The Opener, October 28, 2026

The contained spillover from Brazil's political shock carries into this session, but the bigger story for futures is how little oil has reacted to a fresh round of Gulf escalation. Houthi forces claim strikes on Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery and, separately, on the Saudi Defense Ministry in Riyadh, with Saudi authorities confirming they intercepted two ballistic missiles headed for the capital and issuing danger warnings for Najran, Khamis Mushait and Riyadh. Iran's navy says a tanker it calls a violator struck mines near the Strait of Hormuz. Yet CENTCOM insists US and partner forces, not Iran, control the strait, OPEC+ is expected to hold output steady at its weekend meeting, and crude settled 1.83% lower near $99.90 a barrel, suggesting traders see the flow of oil as intact for now.

On Ukraine, Russia hit the country overnight with 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones, according to President Zelenskiy, who says delayed Western air-defense supplies are helping Moscow. Putin held calls with Finland's Stubb and Norway's Stoere, the Kremlin says US-Russia-Ukraine talks resume in Abu Dhabi in November, and reports describe US-Russia discussions spanning diesel sales, Sakhalin energy cooperation and a possible Nord Stream revival, underscoring how diplomacy and battlefield escalation are running in parallel.

Earnings flow remains heavy and skews positive. UPS, Coca-Cola, PayPal, S&P Global, IQVIA, Johnson Controls, Illinois Tool Works and Freeport-McMoRan all raised guidance, while Boeing fell sharply after cutting its delivery goal, and Xylem and Sherwin-Williams cut or narrowed outlooks. Advanced Micro Devices rallied premarket after announcing a partnership with Meta Platforms, including a $1 billion investment in Meta's equity offering, lifting the broader chip complex.

In premarket trading, SK hynix leads gainers, up 7.5%, with PPG Industries up 5.1%, Sandisk up 4.1%, Micron Technology up 3.6% and the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF up 3.4%. On the other side, Enphase Energy drops 17.0%, Robinhood falls 7.8%, NXP Semiconductors is down 6.9%, CoStar Group falls 6.7% and F5 declines 6.4%.