Wall Street deepened its losses on Thursday amid doubts over AI financing and a rally in oil. The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.2% and the S&P 500 dropped 1.2%. Meta lost more than 6% of its market value, a decline of over US$115 billion, and its five-year credit default swap premium hit a record 119 basis points. Brent rose 3.1% to US$112.21 after attacks on Saudi facilities.
JPMorgan believes Chinese regulatory approval would be the biggest obstacle to a possible merger between Tesla and SpaceX, ahead of a Tesla shareholder vote. The bank's analysis, written by Rajat Gupta, follows Elon Musk's statement that both companies set up special committees to evaluate a combination, with no definitive deal yet. China accounts for about 20% of Tesla's revenue. JPMorgan raises as an alternative separating Tesla's China business through a structure similar, in reverse, to the US-TikTok agreement.
In the six months to August 31, 2026, BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust's NAV total return rose 2.7%, compared with 4.3% for its benchmark. The share price gained 1.7% while the discount widened. The company declared a quarterly dividend of 2.225p, payable on December 10, 2026. The update is presented as a half-cycle report following a merger.
Barclays eliminated 5,000 jobs from its global workforce of 93,000 people, about 5%, as part of a cost-reduction plan backed by artificial intelligence, the bank said in the United Kingdom. The adjustment came on top of 1,000 positions cut since the start of the year. The move coincided with a 12% rise in quarterly pre-tax profit to £2.3 billion between July and September. Chief financial officer Anna Cross said the program aims to save more than £1.1 billion in 2027.
BRC Group Holdings, Inc. (RILY) said it will release its third-quarter 2026 financial results after the market close on Thursday, November 5, 2026, and will hold a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET. The announcement is a scheduling notice ahead of the quarterly figures, according to the company's press release distributed by PR Newswire.
NVR reported net income of $248.6 million in the third quarter of 2026, with diluted earnings per share of $89.45, a 27% year-over-year decline. Revenue was $2.40 billion versus $2.61 billion a year earlier. Homebuilding gross margin fell to 18.3% from 21.0%, including approximately $24.8 million in land deposit impairments.
A DWF Labs report concludes that daily flows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs are not a reliable indicator of BTC's next move, since investors tend to buy after rallies and sell during declines. The analysis of 694 trading days since January 2024 found a correlation of 0.54 with Bitcoin's price over the prior five days and of just 0.03 with the following five days. "ETF flows confirm moves; they don't predict them," the report says.
Webull Corporation launched extended-hours trading for selected options on individual stocks and ETFs. The service runs from 7:30 to 9:25 a.m. ET and from 4:00 to 4:15 p.m. ET, and includes securities such as AAPL, AMZN, NVDA, TSLA, SPY, QQQ, IWM, GLD and XLF. Availability varies by symbol and contract, according to the company's press release distributed by PR Newswire.
Encompass Health Corporation (EHC) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.21 per share, payable on January 15, 2027 to shareholders of record as of January 4, 2027, according to the original press release distributed by PR Newswire.
Petra Diamonds Limited will not publish its annual report for fiscal 2026 before October 31 due to audit delays. The company expects its shares to be suspended from 07:30 (UK time) on November 2, 2026, until the audit is completed and the report is published.
Badger Meter reported net sales of $235.9 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $235.7 million a year earlier. Operating profit rose 4% to $47.7 million, with an operating margin of 20.2%, and net income was $35.9 million. Diluted earnings per share reached $1.24, versus $1.19. The company highlighted progress on awarded projects in water utility and the launch of OneNetwork, a software platform in its BlueEdge portfolio.
US futures trade lower, led by the Nasdaq 100 down nearly 1.6% and semiconductor losses above 3%, as investors question the returns on heavy artificial intelligence investments. Brent tops $112 on threats to Middle East supply and the United States evacuates part of its diplomatic staff from Saudi Arabia. Gold nears its October 7 lows, European natural gas trades around 89 and the yen strengthens against the dollar.
US futures trade lower, erasing the previous session's gains, in a day marked by selling in AI and semiconductor stocks across Asia-Pacific, with the Hang Seng and KOSPI leading declines. The yen strengthened on safe-haven demand and the dollar eased. Crude rose on attacks on vessels in the Persian Gulf and a larger-than-expected inventory draw, while gold and silver remained under pressure.
Global military spending reached $2.9 trillion last year, a record figure, according to Sipri. Its director, Karim Haggag, warned at a meeting in Barcelona organized by Cidob that this rearmament does not translate into greater security. In Europe, spending rose 14% compared with 2024, and the 22 European NATO members spent $559 billion in total, versus Russia's $190 billion. Haggag argues that security also depends on conflict resolution and on multilateral institutions that, he said, are being eroded.
United Bankshares reported net income of $128.7 million in the third quarter of 2026, or $0.94 per diluted share, compared with $131.4 million and $0.95 in the prior quarter and $130.7 million a year earlier. Net interest income reached a record $294.3 million, up 5% year over year, with a net interest margin of 3.86%. The provision for credit losses was $6.2 million and the company repurchased about 2.1 million shares during the quarter.
China SXT Pharmaceuticals will carry out a 1-for-100 consolidation of its Class A ordinary shares, effective October 26, 2026, with trading on a post-consolidation basis beginning that same day. According to the analysis cited in the report, this is a measure microcaps often use to maintain compliance with listing requirements and restore trading dynamics. The information comes from the company's original press release, distributed by PR Newswire.
AmeriServ Financial moved its investment services program to Ameriprise Financial Institutions Group, which includes advisors managing approximately $525 million in client assets. According to the cited analysis, it is an early-stage strategic move to strengthen wealth management through a third-party platform, and its impact will depend on growth in fee income and on asset retention and inflows tied to the transition.
The yield on the French 10-year bond reached 5.1%, a rise that implies a fall in the price of the debt and may be behind declines in the European banking sector. Banks hold significant portfolios of government debt: depending on their accounting treatment, higher yields support net interest income but can reduce equity. The real risk, the analysis says, lies in liquidity given maturity mismatches, as illustrated by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Roper Technologies reported revenue of $2.172 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 8% from a year earlier, with diluted earnings per share of $4.88 and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $5.89, up 15%. Net earnings rose to $484.7 million from $398.5 million. The company raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share forecast to a range of $22.35 to $22.40 and expects $5.95 to $6.00 for the fourth quarter.
Procter & Gamble reported net sales of $23.276 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 4% from $22.386 billion a year earlier, with organic sales also up 4%. Core earnings per share were $2.00 and diluted EPS was $1.97, both up 1%. Net earnings were $4.757 billion, compared with $4.781 billion previously. The company maintained its full-year guidance and revised its total sales growth outlook to 2%-4% due to the Thorne acquisition.
