Market Brief — October 14, 2026

U.S. equities fell after hotter‐than‐expected September CPI lifted Fed hike odds, with the S&P 500 (SPX) down 1.11%, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) down 1.88%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) off 0.09%. European markets closed higher, with the CAC 40 (FRA40) up 0.58%, FTSE 100 (UKX) up 0.70%, and DAX (DAX) up 0.15% as investors weighed a European Commission proposal to delay methane‐monitoring rules for fossil‐fuel imports. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) finished flat at 0.0%, while Gulf equity markets were mixed, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai rising and Qatar and Kuwait declining following a Houthi strike on Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran complex.

U.S. inflation surprised to the upside, with September headline CPI up 3.7% year‐over‐year and 0.6% month‐over‐month, core CPI up 2.6% year‐over‐year and 0.3% month‐over‐month, and energy prices rising 5.2% on the month, driving the 2‐year Treasury yield roughly 12 basis points higher and pushing the S&P 500 (SPX) down 1.11% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.88%. CME FedWatch probabilities for an October rate hike rose to roughly 45–47% and December hike odds to about 94%, while Citigroup shifted to expecting a 25 bp Federal Reserve increase in December 2026 with no cuts until June 2027, and Cleveland Fed nowcasts pointed to October headline CPI at 3.78% year‐over‐year and core at 2.48%.

Bank of America (BAC) reported weaker Q3 results as a non‐tax‐deductible $1.2 billion regulatory penalty for money‐laundering and sanctions lapses cut profit 17% to $6.93 billion and EPS to $0.91 versus an underlying $1.08, with revenue of $30.12 billion about $570 million below expectations and fixed‐income trading revenue down 17% to $2.55 billion while equities trading rose about 10% to $2.51 billion. Morgan Stanley posted Q3 net revenue of $20.34 billion versus expectations of $19.95 billion, EPS of $3.03, a nearly 41% rise in equity trading revenue to $5.8 billion, a 7.3% drop in fixed‐income trading to $2.01 billion, and record $232 billion of wealth‐management net new assets, but its shares were indicated about 2.5% lower before the market open on October 14, 2026. Risk sentiment in growth and energy‐linked assets weakened as CoreWeave (CRWV) equity fell roughly 16–17% and its 9.625% senior unsecured notes due 2032 slid to about 79.5 cents on the dollar with yields near 14.5%, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped about 2.8% alongside Nvidia (NVDA) losses after the CPI‐driven rise in Treasury yields, Netflix announced plans to cut around 1,000 jobs (about 6% of staff), and headlines on EU methane‐monitoring delays, U.S. sanctions relief for a Venezuelan official, QatarEnergy’s postponed LNG deliveries to Edison, and a Houthi strike on Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran complex framed regional energy‐market risk. Uzbekistan Hospitality Group TEG completed its U.S. business combination, and Flex closed its acquisition of EPC Power to expand power‐conversion capabilities for AI data centers and grid applications. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. completed its acquisition of Alesta Therapeutics, delivering proceeds to shareholder 1cBio, while SKYX closed its merger with AI smart‐home technology company Deako. Mount Logan Capital Inc. finalized the merger of Alternative Credit Income Fund with BC Partners Lending Corporation, and newly announced deals included 3C’s merger with Datalec to form a US$400 million‐plus liquid‐cooling and data‐centre services platform as well as acquisitions by Zocdoc, FormativGroup, Volatus Aerospace, and Humanly to expand capabilities in health‐insurance navigation, AI and data engineering, defence aerial intelligence, and recruiting technology.