Oil drops on Iran talks hopes as AI-chip selling drags the Nasdaq lower

• US: The Dow ended the regular session up 0.41% at 51,983.98. The S&P 500 slipped 0.51% to 7,541.40 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.07% to 25,164.32. The Nasdaq had been higher in the morning and gave the gains back through the afternoon. S&P 500 futures are trading 0.37% lower after hours.
• Europe: The cheaper oil was a clear win for Europe. The CAC 40 closed up 0.98%, the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.73%, the DAX added 0.63% and the FTSE 100 gained 0.29%. London rose least because of its heavy weighting in oil producers.
• Asia: Asia traded before the oil move and was led by chip stocks. The Taiwan Weighted closed down 3.12%, the Nikkei fell 2.44% and the Kospi lost 1.32%. Against that, the Hang Seng rose 1.89%.

Oil was the biggest story of the day. Brent ended down 11.38% at $104.25 and WTI fell 7.48% to $96.33. Iran's president said the Supreme Leader had given the government authority to pursue talks. Its foreign minister said negotiators in Qatar were working on a proposal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within about two days, provided Washington met conditions that include lifting its naval blockade. Secretary of State Rubio said President Trump prefers a diplomatic solution. Goldman Sachs estimates a war premium of about $27 a barrel built up in October. Trump also declined to rule out strikes this week, so traders were taking some of that premium out of the price rather than all of it. Cheaper fuel lifted airlines and consumer stocks and hit producers.

Technology took the indices down. The selling was a reaction to company news, not a broad flight from risk. Marvell fell 12.72% after agreeing to buy Lumentum in an all-stock deal valued at $115bn including debt. Lumentum lost 18.59%, which leaves it well below the deal's implied value. Oracle dropped 8.72% after announcing a $10bn share sale alongside a bond sale. That has renewed questions about how the AI build-out will be funded.

The same worry ran through Asia. Kioxia fell 15.78% after a December-quarter profit outlook that implied growth is flattening. Screen Holdings fell 18.96% after leaving its guidance unchanged. Some analysts read this as AI chip demand starting to cool. We found no single clear driver for the Hang Seng's gain.

The headline indices hide how broad the US gains were. In PrimerIQ's US universe, 3,367 shares rose and 2,718 fell, and the average stock gained 0.76% even as the S&P 500 declined. Sector moves were unusually spread out: consumer discretionary rose 2.41% and financials 1.86%, while technology fell 2.95% and energy 3.96%. The VIX, Wall Street's gauge of expected volatility, still rose 8.91% to 21.15, so traders are buying protection before Tuesday's midterm elections. In bonds, the 10-year Treasury yield fell 3.5bp to 4.894%. The MOVE index of bond-market volatility was little changed at 100.36. Gold rose 1.42%, which shows some lingering demand for safety despite the hopes for a deal.

The US data were mixed. The ISM manufacturing index rose a point to 55.5 in October, beating the 54.5 economists expected, with output higher and price pressures easing. September construction spending fell 1.9%, against an expected 0.4% rise, dragged down by a 5.5% drop in spending on homes. Nothing else of consequence is due today. The next tests are Tuesday's US midterm elections and Friday's October payrolls report at 08:30 ET, where economists expect 55,000 new jobs.

IDEXX had the standout result of the day. It closed up 21.85% after revenue rose 10% and it raised its 2026 forecasts. After the bell, Apple reported record September-quarter revenue of $114.48bn, but Greater China revenue of $17.54bn missed the $18.75bn analysts expected, and the shares were flat in early after-hours trading. Palantir's revenue rose 96% to $2.31bn and it raised its full-year outlook well above consensus, but its shares also barely moved at first.