Nasdaq Futures Fall 1.93%, Brent Rises to $112 on Supply Fears
Key Facts
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.93% before U.S. markets opened on the morning of October 22, 2026, according to Reuters. Futures were down 578.5 points in the reading reported by the agency. In energy markets, Brent crude rose to $112 a barrel. Crude gained more than 3% as fears of supply disruptions and a widening conflict resurfaced, according to Reuters. The moves followed attacks on the Shaybah oil field and King Fahd Airport in Dammam, and coincided with technology companies announcing divergent updates to their capital spending plans.
Meta narrowed its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to $135–145 billion from $130–145 billion, according to Investing.com, raising the lower end while leaving the upper end unchanged. Its board also approved a new class of publicly traded, non-voting Class C common shares. Tesla, meanwhile, revised its annual capital expenditure forecast below its previous guidance, according to a comparison of its quarterly filing and an earlier Reuters report. The company said in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: "We currently expect our capital expenditures to exceed $20 billion in 2026." It had previously forecast spending of more than $25 billion, according to a Reuters report published on September 29. The current guidance follows capital expenditure of $8.53 billion in 2025, according to the same report.
Tesla's results showed capital expenditure of $4,732 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $5,789 million in the previous quarter. Spending rose 110% year on year from $2,248 million in the third quarter of 2025. Actual spending fell short of analysts' average forecast of $7,771 million, according to a consensus table compiled by the company and published on October 19 ahead of the results. The median forecast in the table was $8,000 million for the same period. Meanwhile, free cash flow turned positive at $1,531 million, compared with negative $1,092 million in the second quarter. Despite the quarterly improvement, free cash flow remained 62% below its year-earlier level, according to the official earnings presentation.
In Saudi Arabia, the energy ministry reported that two people, one Filipino and one Nepali, were killed in an attempted attack on the Shaybah oil field on October 21, according to Agence France-Presse. Two others were injured in the same incident. A fire broke out in a contractor's vehicle outside the perimeter fence of the field's facility, Arab News reported, citing the ministry. The ministry said "operations were unaffected." In a separate attack that evening, King Fahd Airport in Dammam was targeted. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said the airport attack killed two people and injured 8 others, according to an update carried by Arab News on October 22.
In corporate earnings, Lam Research reported revenue of $8.22 billion for the quarter ended September 27, 2026, in its statement issued on October 21. The company expects revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter ending December 27, plus or minus $400 million. That puts the revenue target above the September quarter's total. It also targets diluted earnings per share under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles of $2.33. The company set a range of plus or minus $0.15 per share for that December-quarter guidance. Before that quarter ends, the Federal Reserve holds its next meeting on October 27–28, 2026, according to the Federal Open Market Committee's official calendar.