Markets News, Oct. 20, 2026: Dow Closes Up 500 Points; S&P 500 Rises, Nasdaq Ticks Lower; Oil Prices Pull Back

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed higher on a big day of corporate earnings reports, while oil prices retreated on hopes of Middle East diplomacy.

The blue-chip Dow surged 1%, or more than 500 points, on Tuesday, while the benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite ended fractionally lower.

Yesterday, the Nasdaq jumped and the S&P 500 rose, as investors bought a dip in tech stocks. Last week, the Nasdaq had a four-week winning streak snapped, while the S&P 500 logged its fourth negative result in six weeks. The Dow ended Mnday down 0.1% after registering a second straight weekly gain.

The S&P 500 was lower in the opening minutes of trading Tuesday before reports that mediators were trying to bring the U.S. and Iran to discuss an end to the Middle East conflict. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures, which had risen more than 20% over an eight-session winning streak, declined 2.5% to $101.10 a barrel around 4 p.m. ET. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, slipped 0.2% to $109.30 after hitting their highest level since mid-May earlier Tuesday.

In post-earnings moves, General Motors (GM) and GE Aerospace (GE) ranked among the biggest S&P 500 decliners, falling roughly 7% and 3.5%, respectively. 3M (MMM) jumped almost 6% to lead the Dow, and defense contractors RTX (RTX) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) rose a respective 0.7% and 4.5%. SpaceX (SPCX) and Netflix (NFLX) declined less than 1% and 2%, respectively, ahead of their after-hours results.

Chip stocks ended lower, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) finishing down 0.4% and Roundhill’s Memory ETF (DRAM) falling 1.3%. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS), which tracks the Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks, ended 0.4% lower. Tesla (TSLA), which reports earnings tomorrow, led the group with a 1.5% advance.

CoreWeave (CRWV) shares, which plunged 25% last week amid concerns about the Nvidia-backed firm’s debt, ended up 1.7% after dropping 5.5% early in the session.

The 10-year Treasury yield was below 5.12% in late-afternoon trading, down two basis points from Monday’s close. The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales fell 7.3% month-over-month in September, a far bigger decline than the 0.4% expected.

The price of bitcoin was around $82,400, slightly higher over the past 24 hours. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, slipped 0.3% to 101.73. Gold futures declined 0.5% to $4,140 an ounce.