Issue · Thursday, 22 October 2026
Nasdaq +1.05% on SpaceX; Meta up, Tesla down after hours
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TL;DR
- SpaceX's results pulled investors back into tech. The Nasdaq rose 1.05%, the S&P 500 0.58% (a third straight gain) and the Dow 0.69%.
- After the close, Meta beat on revenue and rose about 2%, while Tesla gave back its gains and fell about 2% to 3%.
- Early Thursday, Nasdaq-100 futures were down 1.32% and S&P 500 futures down 0.66% (CNBC).
📊 Indices (close, Wed 21 Oct)
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 52,856.09 | +360.21 (+0.69%) |
| S&P 500 | 7,757.17 | +44.60 (+0.58%) |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,702.86 | +278.04 (+1.05%) |
🪙 Crypto (Thu morning)
- Bitcoin: about $82,200, down about 0.6% over 24h, after briefly trading above $84,000 during Wednesday's US session.
- Ether: about $2,430, down about 0.6% over 24h.
🚀 Movers
- SpaceX (SPCX) +7.9% to $159.48. Q3 revenue jumped 161% to $14.58B and Elon Musk said SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss a merger. EchoStar, which owns a SpaceX stake, rose about 7%.
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI) +9.6% to $35.58. It raised its fiscal Q1 revenue outlook to $18.5B–$19.5B from $14.5B–$15.5B. Rivals Dell and HPE rose too.
- Strategy (MSTR) +7.6% to $153.53. Bitcoin's push above $84,000 lifted crypto stocks across the board.
- Netflix (NFLX) −5.3% to $65.04. It narrowed its 2026 revenue forecast to $51.1B, the low end of its earlier range, and cut its ad revenue outlook.
- Tesla (TSLA) +3.4% to $386.47, then about −3% after hours. Q3 beat estimates (48 cents adjusted EPS on $28.05B revenue vs. 43 cents and $27.88B expected), but cautious comments on robotics and chipmaking and a battery shortage holding back production outweighed the beat.
🤖 AI/Tech story: Meta's AI bill gets its own share class
Meta's Q3 revenue rose 26% to $64.60B, ahead of the $63.37B consensus, and it guided Q4 to $73B–$76B. Capital spending hit $34.91B in the quarter, up from $19.4B a year ago, and free cash flow was negative $2.12B. It narrowed its 2026 capex range to $135B–$145B. To fund AI investment without diluting Mark Zuckerberg's control, Meta will issue one new non-voting Class C share for every existing share, effective 19 January 2027. Its Muse AI agent is now the centre of the strategy. Shares rose about 2% after hours.
👀 What to watch today (times CEST)
- Done: Asian markets fell overnight; the Hang Seng was down more than 2% and the Nikkei 0.73%.
- Before the US open (about 12:00–15:30): Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin, Union Pacific, Honeywell, Comcast, Blackstone, Spotify and American Airlines report.
- 14:30: US weekly jobless claims.
- 15:30: US open. Watch whether Tesla's and Lam Research's after-hours drops (Lam −5% on its outlook) drag on chips and the AI trade.
- 16:00: US leading index (September).
- After the US close (from 22:00): Western Digital, Newmont, Bloom Energy, VeriSign and Deckers.
Sources: AP and CNBC market wraps (21 Oct); Exa market data (DJI/SPX/IXIC, 21 Oct); CNBC midday movers and after-hours movers (21 Oct); 24/7 Wall St. close movers (SPCX, SMCI, MSTR); Easy Sahm movers (NFLX close); MarketWatch and Investing.com on Tesla; Meta Q3 2026 press release; Fortune on Meta capex; CNBC live updates (22 Oct, futures and Asia); CoinGecko prices (22 Oct, 09:21 CEST); eOption weekly calendar and Earnings Whispers (22 Oct).
Informational only. Not financial advice.
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