Fri Oct 23, 2026

What happened

The S&P 500 fell 0.55% and the Dow fell 1.24%, the largest decline among the main indexes. The Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.05% and the Russell 2000 fell 0.33%. All four closed lower.

Energy rose 2.57% and led the sectors. Technology gained 0.5% and real estate 0.11%. Every other sector fell, with consumer staples down 1.89%, communication services down 1.77% and consumer discretionary down 1.65%. Among stocks, Crown Castle gained 8.6% and SLB 7.0%. LKQ dropped 22.5%, Tango Therapeutics 16.4%, Nokia 12.2%, Bloom Energy 11.3% and SLM 10.9%.

Tariff news dominated the day's headlines. The president modified the list of Canadian products subject to tariffs, and a report from the Wall Street Journal said some tariffs on Canadian goods could be removed as soon as Friday. Meta drew heavy coverage, including a reported stock split plan and a report that its free cash flow turned negative on AI spending, and communication services lagged. The reason for the broad decline is not clear from the day's stories, and no story explains the energy gain. No after-close earnings were scheduled.

Against this morning

This morning's brief leaned bearish, with a structure score of 36, after the prior close showed the S&P 500 down 1.18% and the Nasdaq 100 down 2.85%. The market fell again, so the bearish call matched. What differed was the size and mix of the move: the S&P 500 lost 0.55% rather than more than 1%, the Nasdaq 100 was nearly flat, and the Dow, which had edged up 0.04% at the prior close, fell the most today at 1.24%.