Midterms, Jobs Data, and Apple Earnings Test Wall Street This Week: Will Stocks Hold?
Wall Street confronts a volatile week with midterm elections, a crucial jobs report, and Apple earnings as the Nasdaq Composite lost 2% last week, posting its worst month since March 2025.
The Federal Reserve held rates last week with two of its 12 voters backing a hike. A strong jobs report could increase rate-hike odds, adding pressure to risk assets already weighed by artificial intelligence (AI) spending doubts. Economists expect October nonfarm payrolls to show 55,000 jobs added on Friday.
Tech Earnings Under Scrutiny
Apple reports earnings after Monday's close, followed by McDonald's and Qualcomm later in the week. Despite the market downturn, Apple remains positive for the month. AI-linked shares initially rose on Anthropic's IPO filing but fell when Alphabet and Microsoft guided to lower-than-expected capital spending, while Amazon maintained its full-year spending guidance.
Congress control has tended to matter little for stocks.
Oil and Market Shifts
Oil prices add market pressure after rising more than 10% in October, with West Texas Intermediate near $102 and Brent near $112. Israel's election deadlock keeps Middle East risk factors in play for oil traders. Meanwhile, the Dow gained almost 2% in October as money shifted toward healthcare and defensive stocks, suggesting capital moved rather than left the market.
Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia fell about 14% Monday as its flash memory price gains slowed to the mid-20% range last quarter from 70%. Friday's payrolls report will test whether firmer rate-hike bets widen the retreat from tech stocks.
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