Market Wrap, October 20, 2026

The S&P 500 ETF closed up 0.3%, a modest headline move that masked a sharp rotation into health care and financials on blowout earnings, while technology and industrials lagged on chip weakness and mixed guidance.

Oil swung throughout the day as the Strait of Hormuz standoff showed no resolution. Iran's navy reported a tanker fire in the strait, Tehran's security chief said no talks would proceed without the US building trust, and a person close to the negotiations denied reports a deal was close. Secretary of State Rubio countered that flows through Hormuz are nearly back to pre-war levels, and Treasury Secretary Bessent said Iran's currency has collapsed and panic is building domestically. Trump said the US is deciding whether to win against Iran "the nice way or the not-nice way." WTI ultimately settled down $1.87, or 1.81%, at $101.79, and Brent fell 0.69% to $108.79, both reversing earlier gains tied to the IEA signaling it could tap emergency stocks. Treasury yields had risen to 5.14% on inflation worries tied to the energy spike. Separately, envoys Witkoff and Kushner are set to travel to Russia Friday as US officials work toward in-person Putin-Zelenskyy-Trump talks on Ukraine.

Health Care led all sectors, up 2.3%, with Moderna, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly among the strongest gainers after a batch of upbeat guidance across the group. Financials rose 1.2%, powered by MSCI's 5.2% jump and double-digit-percentage gains at KeyCorp and Fifth Third Bancorp following strong quarterly results. Real Estate added 1.7% and Utilities 1.2%. Technology slipped 0.3% as Lam Research, KLA Corp and Applied Materials fell more than 1.8% apiece amid broader semiconductor weakness tied to China's pushback on US restrictions targeting DeepSeek tools. Industrials were roughly flat, with Northrop Grumman up 4.3% on an earnings beat and raised guidance offsetting a near 3.8% drop in GE Aerospace despite its own upgraded full-year outlook.

Company News

Northrop Grumman beat estimates with Q3 EPS of $7.89 and raised full-year operating income and EPS guidance.
GE Aerospace topped estimates with EPS of $2.25 and lifted 2026 revenue, profit and free cash flow guidance, though shares fell nearly 4%.
RTX posted EPS of $2.26, well ahead of expectations, and raised full-year sales, EPS and free cash flow guidance on a record $340 billion backlog.
General Motors approved a new $20 billion buyback but narrowed full-year EPS guidance and missed slightly on Q3 earnings, sending shares down nearly 7%.
Equifax beat on EPS but cut full-year revenue guidance on mortgage-market weakness; shares still jumped more than 10%.
Hasbro posted EPS of $2.90, more than a dollar above expectations, and raised its full-year revenue and margin outlook, with shares up over 11%.
3M beat estimates, raised full-year sales and EPS guidance, and expanded a commercial relationship with an Amazon subsidiary via a stock warrant tied to data-center product purchases.
Halliburton and Steel Dynamics both posted mixed results; Steel Dynamics missed on EPS despite higher steel prices.
Kimberly-Clark priced $4.9 billion in notes to fund its pending Kenvue acquisition.
Tradeweb Markets agreed to acquire Trumid Holdings for roughly $1.97 billion.
Prudential Financial agreed to sell its Brazil and Mexico units to CNP Assurances for about $4.025 billion.
Salesforce agreed to acquire Braze for $47.50 per share, valuing it at about $5.66 billion.
Netflix guided fourth-quarter revenue to $13.44 billion, below the $13.51 billion expected.