Oil Jumps This Week After Houthi Attacks on Saudi Sites

Oil jumped this week after Houthi attacks on Saudi sites, and US stocks, gold and crude are shut until Monday. West Texas Intermediate's Friday NYMEX settlement was 103.27 dollars, up 3.8 percent on the day, after Yemen's Houthis claimed strikes on Aramco facilities and airports (Reuters). Brent settled 116.72 dollars, the highest close since April 29. The Nasdaq Composite closed Friday at 25,955.34, down 0.7 percent on the week, after Thursday's 2.60 percent drop following Meta's capital-spending print. The week in markets ran from October 19 to October 25, 2026. Equity, gold and oil figures below are Friday closes (October 23). Bitcoin and Ether are live as of this Sunday note.

Weekly Scorecard: Nasdaq Loses 0.7 Percent, Oil Holds the 103 Handle

Wednesday's SpaceX report lifted the Nasdaq 1.05 percent. Thursday gave it back. Meta's first quarterly cash shortfall since the 2012 listing cut the Nasdaq 2.60 percent, the steepest session since June 5, and the S&P 500 closed 7,663.43, down 1.21 percent (Reuters). Friday did not repair. At Friday's cash close the S&P 500 stood at 7,623.68, down 0.52 percent on the day and down 0.5 percent on the week from 7,659.44 (Reuters, Associated Press). Friday range 7,612.07 to 7,660.15. The Nasdaq Composite finished at 25,955.34, down 0.7 percent on the week. The Dow closed at 52,215.16, up 0.4 percent, a third straight weekly gain. Catch up: Saturday's weekly markets roundup and Friday's evening review.

Biggest Movers of the Week

Meta printed third-quarter revenue of 64.6 billion dollars, up 26 percent, then reversed in cash. Free cash flow printed negative 2.12 billion dollars, the first quarterly shortfall since the 2012 listing, as capital spending of about 34.9 billion outran operating cash. Full-year 2026 capex was narrowed to 135 to 145 billion dollars by lifting the floor from 130 billion. Shares fell about 7 percent on Thursday. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index dropped 6.7 percent that session, its largest daily decline since June 23 (Reuters). Tesla posted revenue of 28.05 billion dollars and GAAP net income of 787 million dollars, down 43 percent, and cut 2026 capital spending to about 20 billion dollars. Shares still fell about 3 percent. SpaceX reported revenue of 14.58 billion dollars, with Super Intelligence at 7.56 billion, more than Starlink and launch combined. That split helped Wednesday's Nasdaq bounce, then Thursday sold the financing question. Netflix cut its 2026 advertising outlook to 2.7 billion dollars from 3 billion.

Oil and Geopolitics: WTI Settles $103.27 After Houthi Strikes

Yemen's Houthis claimed strikes on Saudi energy and airport sites, including an Aramco facility at Yanbu. Saudi Aramco evacuated its Dhahran headquarters earlier in the week (Reuters). West Texas Intermediate settled Friday at 103.27 dollars (Reuters, MarketWatch), up 3.8 percent on Friday and up 1.8 percent Friday to Friday from last Friday's 101.41. Session range 98.84 to 103.92. Brent settled 116.72 dollars, the highest close since April 29, and up 6.2 percent on the week from last Friday's 109.86. Saturday, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Yanbu, the Rabigh oil refinery and the East-West Pipeline (Reuters, October 24). The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed two ballistic missiles fired toward Yanbu and Taif. Those claims printed after cash close. Oil figures in this note remain Friday settlements. Markets resume electronic hours Sunday evening. Oil bullish trigger: a hold of Friday's 103.27 through 103.92. Bearish trigger: a slip through 100.97, then Thursday's 99.47.

Macro: Hot PMI Prices, UK CPI, Then Gold Loses Four Thousand

S&P Global's flash US composite PMI eased to 57.6 from 58.4. The output-price gauge rose to 59.8, the highest since August 2022, as oil and metals passed through. UK CPI rose to 3.5 percent in the year to September from 3.1 percent (ONS). China said third-quarter GDP grew 4.5 percent from a year earlier, above a 4.4 percent forecast. Final University of Michigan October sentiment printed 48.0, with one-year inflation expectations at 4.7 percent. Spot gold closed Friday about 3,996 dollars (GoldPrice.com 3,995.81), down 0.71 percent on Friday and down 4.1 percent on the week from last Friday's 4,165.42. The metal slipped through 4,000, with a Friday session low near 3,975. The 10-year yield last sat about 4.99 percent on Friday (Associated Press). The Fed is in blackout through October 29 ahead of the October 27-28 meeting. Futures assigned about a 9 to 10 percent chance of an October hike after September's move to a 3.75-4.00 percent funds range. Gold bullish trigger: a reclaim of 4,024. Bearish trigger: a slip through the Friday low near 3,975.

Crypto: Bitcoin Holds $80,345 After a 636 Million-Dollar ETF Day

Bitcoin is near 80,345 dollars live on Sunday (TradingView 80,345), down about 1.5 percent from last Sunday's 81,576. TradingView put the one-week change at -1.41 percent. Bitcoin briefly slipped below 80,000 dollars on Saturday (The Block). Thursday's about 79,800 floor remains. Ether holds near 2,316 dollars live (TradingView 2,315.9), down about 3.7 percent from last Sunday's 2,406, with a one-week change of -3.40 percent. Those are 24/7 prints as of 10:10 UTC. US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted 635.6 million dollars of net outflows on October 22, the largest daily withdrawal since June 25 (The Block). BlackRock's IBIT led with 254.1 million. Friday added another 137.9 million of Bitcoin-fund outflows, leaving the week still net positive at about 305 million. Spot ether ETFs logged about 220.6 million dollars of net outflows over the week. Solana activated the Alpenglow consensus upgrade on October 21, with finality designed to fall to roughly 150 milliseconds. The OCC issued its final GENIUS Act rule, effective January 18, 2027. BTC bullish trigger: a reclaim of 82,700 dollars. Bearish trigger: a slip through about 80,400, then Thursday's 79,800 low.

The Week Ahead: Fed Decision, Microsoft, Alphabet, Then GDP

Cash reopens Monday. Gold and oil resume electronic hours Sunday evening. These are scenarios for next week, not instructions. Docket: calendar.

• Monday, October 26: Verizon before the US cash open.
• Tuesday, October 27: FOMC meeting, day one. Visa, Coca-Cola, Boeing and UPS report.
• Wednesday, October 28: FOMC decision at 18:00 UTC, with Chair Kevin Warsh at 18:30 UTC. Microsoft and Alphabet report after the US close.
• Thursday, October 29: US Q3 GDP (advance) and September PCE at 12:30 UTC, then Amazon and Intel after the close.
• Friday, October 30: Exxon Mobil and Chevron report before the open. Apple reports Monday, November 2. Midterm elections follow on November 3.

Traders watching 7,623.68 as the cash reference. Bullish trigger: a reclaim of Thursday's 7,663.43 then Tuesday's 7,712.57. Bearish trigger: a slide through Friday's 7,612.07 low. Invalidation zone: a hold through that Friday low.

ThriveInMarkets publishes market commentary for general information only and does not provide personal investment advice. Equity, gold and WTI figures are Friday closes for October 23, 2026. Equities reopen Monday. Bitcoin and Ether are live as of 10:10 UTC on October 25, 2026. Levels cited are observations, not instructions to buy or sell any asset.