MARKETS LIVE: Wall Street opens mixed as easing oil prices lift S&P 500 and Nasdaq

• S&P 500 and Nasdaq open high

• FTSE 100 drops 0.94% to 10,666.49

• Bitcoin trades near US$80,000

11:00am: Consumer confidence up

US consumer confidence rose to 91.7 in October, beating expectations of 81.0, as assessments of current conditions and future expectations improved.

The present situation index climbed to 120.4 from 111.8, while the expectations index increased to 72.6 from 65.7. Consumers’ inflation expectations eased to 4.7% from 5.1%.

Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, said discretionary spending plans were mixed, with travel and personal care losing momentum while movies, live entertainment, theatre and sporting events remained resilient.

Roach said recent data on capital shipments, auto sales and broader consumer spending pointed to third-quarter economic growth above 3%, putting full-year growth on track to reach 2.2%.

10:00 am ET: Easing oil price supports sentiment

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq opened higher on Tuesday as easing oil prices supported investor sentiment ahead of major corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.1p, or 0.16%, to 52,277.49 at the open, while the S&P 500 rose 22.7p, or 0.30%, to 7,699.47.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 116.9p, or 0.45%, to 26,286.306.

The DJI then recovered from its lower opening and was up 0.11% at 52,419.34, gaining 57.76p.

At 9:50 am ET, the index slipped back into negative territory, falling 21.72p, or 0.04%, to 52,339.86.

The first few minutes of trade shows a clear lack of direction as Wall Street’s blue-chip stocks are struggling to sustain gains as investors remain cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision and major corporate earnings.

Nvidia shares rose 0.75% to US$217.62, while Intel gained 3.13% to US$93.30.

Visa fell 0.76% to US$401.08, while PayPal edged up 0.63% to US$55.34.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, is trading near US$80,000 on Tuesday at about 9: 37 am EDT,, with selling pressure and uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision weighing on sentiment.

At 13: 48 pm GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.94%, or 100.84p, to 10,666.49.

9:00 am EDT: US stock futures up

US stock futures are pointing to a firmer Wall Street opening, with all three major index futures in positive territory in your latest snapshot.

At 8:53 am, Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.54% to 29,596, up 158p, leading gains and signalling relative strength in technology and growth stocks.

Dow Jones futures gained 0.30% to 52,708, up 158p, indicating a more modest recovery among blue-chip stocks.

S&P 500 futures advanced 0.36% to 7,742.50, up 28p, pointing to broader market support.

Reuters reported that futures were edging higher on Tuesday as oil prices declined, with investors awaiting the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision on Wednesday and major technology earnings.

In pre-market trade on Tuesday morning, AI infrastructure and chipmakers are in the green, with Nvidia, Intel, Broadcom, Micron and CoreWeave all trading higher

SoFi Technologies (SOFI) surged 10.64% to US$16.00, making it the strongest gainer and the most actively traded stock.

CoreWeave (CRWV) rose 4.44% to US$57.64, while Broadcom (AVGO) gained 3.25% to US$339.85, pointing to strength in AI infrastructure and semiconductor-related names.

Micron Technology (MU) climbed 2.50% to US$926.33, while Intel (INTC) advanced 1.75% to US$92.05.

Nvidia (NVDA) rose 1.12% to US$218.41, with SpaceX (SPCX) up 1.08% to US$148.48 and Tesla (TSLA) gaining 1.12% to US$396.01.

Bloom Energy (BE) added 4.28% and XP (XP) rose 3.09%.

On the other hand, Meta Platforms (META) slipped 0.60% to US$626.80, suggesting investors were more cautious about the social media giant even as semiconductor stocks advanced.

PayPal (PYPL) fell 1.34% to US$54.25, making it the weakest stock in the payments group shown.

Boeing (BA) dropped 2.44% to US$183.71, the steepest decline among the 20 stocks listed.

The UK stock market is showing a sharp divergence, with the FTSE 100 under pressure while the FTSE 250 advances, suggesting stronger performance among mid-cap shares than large blue-chip stocks.

The UK banking index hit a four-month low and was last down 3.7%, signalling heavy selling pressure across the banking sector, reports Reuters.

The fall was driven in part by HSBC, whose shares dropped about 7% after third-quarter revenue missed analysts’ expectations, while Standard Chartered, NatWest and Lloyds also declined.

Britain sold £4.5 billion of five-year government bonds on Tuesday at an average yield of 5.036%, the highest since 2008, highlighting pressure on finance minister John Healey ahead of his first annual Budget on Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.87%, or 93p, to 10,673.4, indicating broad weakness among the largest listed companies.

The FTSE 250 rose 0.54%, or 132p, to 24,633.4, showing relative strength in mid-cap stocks.

Brent crude futures for January 2027 fell 0.43% to US$110.26 a barrel, down US$0.48, indicating a modest pullback after oil prices climbed to near six-month highs.

The decline is consistent with easing supply fears as diplomatic efforts seek to reduce Middle East tensions, although renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia continue to threaten regional supplies.

12:20 pm GMT: Footsie down

There’s a broad-based rise in US stock futures on Tuesday, with all four major equity benchmarks trading in positive territory ahead of the Wall Street session.

The FTSE 100 has fallen 87p, or 0.81%, to 10,679.76, indicating a weaker session for London’s blue-chip shares.

11.00am GMT: Junior markets buck blue-chip weakness

The FTSE AIM All-Share rose two points, or 0.2%, to 755, while the FTSE SmallCap index gained 15 points to 8,172.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 fell 73 points, or 0.7%, to 10,694, narrowing its earlier decline of about 100 points as mining shares remained supportive.

Empire Metals Ltd (AIM:EEE, OTCQX:EPMLF, FRA:NOGN) said pilot-scale testing at its Pitfield titanium project in Western Australia would begin within weeks ahead of a scoping study in the first quarter of 2027.

Atlantic Lithium Ltd (AIM:ALL, ASX:A11, OTCID:ALLIF) scheduled a first court hearing for 5 November as Huayou’s proposed US$210 million takeover progressed following Australian foreign investment approval.

Motor and property finance group S&U PLC (LSE:SUS) secured two securitisation facilities worth up to £600 million to support a near-doubling of receivables by 2030.

FTSE 250 investment trust Pantheon International PLC (LSE:PIN, FRA:PAA0)reported a 2.2% rise in September net asset value to 546p per share and spent £36 million on share buybacks.

10.00 am GMT: Mining rally cushions London decline

Antofagasta led the FTSE 100 after rising 2.4% to £32.50 as mining shares extended their sector-wide rebound.

The FTSE 100 fell 85 points, or 0.8%, to 10,682, improving from its decline of about 100 points at 9am.

Rio Tinto gained 1.7%, while Anglo American and Glencore each advanced 1.3%, placing four mining groups among the six biggest risers.

The sector move followed strength among Australian miners as copper prices steadied, rather than fresh company-specific news.

Pest-control group Rentokil Initial rose 2.2%, although continued weakness among banks and consumer shares kept the wider index in negative territory.

9.00 am GMT: Banks deepen blue-chip losses

The FTSE 100 fell 100 points to 10,667 as weakness in banks and consumer shares outweighed gains for miners.

The FTSE 250 was little changed near 24,500, with Ocado rising 3.9% and Vistry climbing 3.8%.

Basic-materials shares bucked the wider sell-off, led by Rio Tinto, up 1.6%, while Antofagasta gained 1%.

HSBC sank 6.9% after quarterly revenue missed forecasts despite a 32% rise in pretax profit, pulling Lloyds, NatWest and Standard Chartered lower.

Reckitt fell 4.1% after cutting its 2026 growth outlook as Lysol production constraints hit North American sales.

Investors also remained cautious before Wednesday’s UK Budget and Federal Reserve decision.

8.15 am GMT: Broad selling outweighs mining strength

The FTSE 100 fell 94 points, or 0.9%, to 10,673 after opening at 10,768 and trading within an early range of 10,656 to 10,768.

The FTSE 250 slipped 46 points to 24,455 as weakness extended beyond the blue-chip index.

Mining was the strongest sector after Australia’s materials-led rally carried the ASX 200 to a seven-week high.

Rio Tinto led the FTSE 100 risers with a 2.3% gain to £63.87, while Antofagasta advanced 1.5% to £32.22.

WPP rose 1.3% and Spirax Group added 1.2%, although those gains were insufficient to counter the wider decline.

Investors remained cautious before Wednesday’s UK Budget and Federal Reserve decision, while HSBC’s forecast-missing quarterly profit restrained banking sentiment.

7.00 am GMT: London set for cautious start

The FTSE 100 is expected to open around 56 points lower at 10,710 as investors turn cautious before Wednesday’s UK Budget and Federal Reserve decision.

The weaker opening call comes despite overnight gains on Wall Street, where renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence stocks lifted the S&P 500 by 0.7%, the Nasdaq by 0.8% and the Dow by 0.3%.

Asian technology markets followed the US rally, with South Korea’s Kospi closing 4.8% higher and Japan’s Nikkei gaining 1.7%, while Chinese and Hong Kong shares weakened.

Australia’s ASX 200 closed 40 points, or 0.5%, higher at a seven-week high of 8,850 as a 2.8% rally across the materials sector outweighed weakness in consumer shares.

The FTSE 100 finished Monday 77 points, or 0.7%, higher at 10,767, while the FTSE 250 gained 1.1% as investors positioned ahead of the Budget.

Brent crude eased towards US$110 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate traded near US$101, while gold slipped to around US$4,016 an ounce and copper gained 0.3%.

Sterling traded near $1.335, while Bitcoin slipped below $80,000.