US stocks fell on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down about 600 points, as oil climbed toward its highest close in six months and investors weighed the cost of a longer war with Iran. Brent crude rose nearly 4% to about $117 a barrel, near its wartime peak, while West Texas Intermediate moved back above $100. The drop followed the Nasdaq 100's worst session since June, when spending plans from Tesla and Meta shook confidence in the artificial intelligence trade. Semiconductor shares steadied, gaining about 1% after a 6% slide. Big Tech earnings and the Federal Reserve's rate decision both arrive next week.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company misled users about how it handled Facebook data. Judge Francis Mathew calculated a penalty of more than $219 billion under state law, then cut it to $25 billion, roughly Meta's quarterly profit. Jurors found about 43 million violations of state consumer protection law, tied to the Cambridge Analytica data harvest for the 2016 election. The fine is far larger than the $5 billion the FTC imposed in 2019. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez called the ruling a warning to the tech industry.
Meta Platforms, Tesla, IBM and Texas Instruments all beat analyst estimates in quarterly results reported on Wednesday. Meta earned $3.83 per share on record revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26%, but took a $10 billion charge from an $18 billion settlement over social media addiction. It guided to $135-$145 billion in AI capital spending and announced a two-for-one split. Tesla earned $0.48 per share on $28.05 billion revenue, with automotive gross margin of 18.1% excluding credits, 2 million unsupervised robotaxi miles and Optimus production starting in Fremont. IBM beat on software and infrastructure and guided to 4-5% full-year revenue growth.
Saudi Arabia has postponed the Future Investment Initiative, informally known as Davos in the Desert, until 2027. The tenth edition had been due to run from October 26 to 29, with Alphabet president Ruth Porat, Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon and BlackRock's Laurence Fink listed as speakers. The decision follows weeks of Houthi strikes on Saudi infrastructure, including Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, which killed at least 18 people. Government agencies in the capital have told staff to work from home.
China's exports rose 36.3 percent in September from a year earlier to $447.18 billion, the fastest growth since February and well above forecasts of 25.5 percent. Electronics and semiconductors led the gain, driven by demand for data-centre parts as companies expand AI computing capacity, and car shipments also climbed. Imports rose 31 percent, but the monthly trade surplus still reached a record $133.5 billion. Exports to the United States rose 39.6 percent after Washington and Beijing agreed to roll back tariffs on $30 billion of goods each and extended their trade truce to January.
Bank of America was ordered to pay $1.21 billion to the US Treasury for anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, the third-largest penalty in the department's history. The bank admitted it willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act and failed to file required suspicious activity reports, including for more than $5 billion in transactions. It also settled 475 apparent violations of sanctions programmes covering Russia, Belarus, Iran, Burma, Somalia, narcotics and global terrorism. Of the total, $750 million goes to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, its largest fine ever. The bank said it has invested billions in financial crime controls.
The US Treasury reported a fiscal 2026 budget deficit of $1.992 trillion, about 12% higher than a year earlier and the largest in five years. It is the third-highest deficit on record, behind only 2020 and 2021. Receipts set a record at $5.40 trillion while outlays reached $7.40 trillion, with defence spending up 6% to $917 billion and corporate tax receipts down about $70 billion after last year's tax cuts. Treasury estimated the deficit at 6.2% of GDP, against 5.8% in fiscal 2025.
US consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in September from a year earlier, the Labor Department said, up from 3.4 percent in August and above the 3.6 percent economists expected. Prices rose 0.6 percent on the month, the biggest gain in five months, while core inflation ran at 2.6 percent. Energy costs drove much of the increase as Brent crude touched $110 a barrel on attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. The report is the last full inflation snapshot before the midterm elections and complicates the Federal Reserve's next move.
US consumer prices rose 0.6% from August and 3.7% over the year in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, above the 3.6% economists expected. Core prices, which strip out food and energy, rose 0.3% for the month and 2.6% over the year, also above forecast. Energy costs drove much of the increase, and price pressure spread beyond petrol. The report lands three weeks before midterm elections, with consumer sentiment near record lows and the Federal Reserve still far from its 2% goal.
US consumer prices rose 0.6 per cent in September after a 0.4 per cent increase in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, matching economist forecasts but confirming that inflation is not cooling quickly. The Federal Reserve raised rates in mid-September for the first time in three years, and another increase at this month's meeting is back in play. Core PCE inflation, the Fed's preferred gauge, ran at 3.0 per cent in the year to August. Economists warn the last stretch back to the central bank's 2 per cent target will be bumpy, with some projecting further hikes into 2027.