EL7.AI
StocksMedium•23 October 2026•
4 min read

Brent Jumps 3.1% to $116.72 as US Stocks Fall at Week’s End

Key Facts

1Brent rose 3.1% to $116.72 a barrel, its highest level since June 2022.
2The Dow fell 1.2% to 52,215.16, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 7,623.68, and the Nasdaq fell 0.2% to 25,955.34.
3The Dow rose 0.4% for the week, while the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq fell 0.7%.
4The consumer price index rose 0.6% in September and was up 3.7% year over year.

US stocks closed lower on October 23 after Brent crude jumped 3.1% to settle at $116.72 a barrel, its highest level since June 2022, according to the Associated Press. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.82 points, or 1.2%, to 52,215.16. The S&P 500 lost about 0.5% to close at 7,623.68. The Nasdaq fell 0.2% to 25,955.34. Stocks came under pressure as oil rose after the US war with Iran cut global oil supplies and drove energy prices higher, the agency reported. Brent rose from less than $97 a barrel at the start of October to its current level.

The decline extended to most S&P 500 components, with nearly three-quarters of listed stocks in the index falling, despite gains in several AI stocks. Micron rose 2.5%, Intel gained 1.7%, Microsoft advanced 0.7%, and AMD rose 1.7%, according to the Associated Press. By contrast, Caterpillar fell 2.4% and American Express dropped 3.7%. Chevron rose 2.9% and ConocoPhillips gained 3.6%, highlighting the differing moves across market sectors during the session. Energy stocks advanced alongside crude prices, while other shares faced pressure in a session when losses broadened.

The session’s losses came despite divergent performances among the indexes for the week ended October 23. The Dow rose 0.4% for the week, while the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq declined 0.7%, according to the Associated Press. The 10-year US Treasury yield was 4.99%, compared with 4.96% at the end of Thursday. In the oil market, EL7 data showed Brent closing at $117.25 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $103.73, while the Dow closed at 52,258.82. These figures differ from the index and price closes reported by the Associated Press, which attributed its figures to Friday’s session.

The oil surge comes as energy costs fed through to US inflation data for September. The consumer price index rose 0.6% during the month, after increasing 0.4% in August, and was up 3.7% year over year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The gasoline index rose 9.1% in September, accounting for more than half of the monthly increase in the overall index, while the energy index rose 5.2%. The Energy Information Administration estimated that the average spot price for Brent was $114 a barrel in September, up $23 from August. The daily spot price reached $131 a barrel on September 15, after disruption to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline led buyers to seek nearby supplies.

Energy Information Administration data indicate that supply disruptions remained substantial despite easing from their peak: average halted crude oil production was 4.8 million barrels a day in September, compared with 5.8 million in August and a peak of 10.9 million in May. The agency expects the average Brent spot price to be $105 a barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026, $14 above its estimate in the previous month’s report. That estimate assumes continued constraints on oil flows from the Middle East. In technology, an analyst at Edward Jones said volatility in AI stocks is tied to investor questions about the high cost of building infrastructure and when it will generate returns. He described the two factors as “the large upfront costs required to build AI infrastructure, and uncertainty about the timing of returns on those investments.”

Investors are looking ahead to results from major technology companies, a Federal Reserve meeting and upcoming inflation data. Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon are scheduled to report financial results during the following week, according to the Associated Press. The Federal Reserve meets on October 27 and 28, with Wall Street expecting it to hold interest rates steady, while expectations lean toward another hike in December. The Bureau of Economic Analysis will release September personal income and spending data on October 29 at 8:30 a.m. The Associated Press expects the personal consumption expenditures index to show inflation at 3.7% in September, compared with the Fed’s 2% target; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has also scheduled the October consumer price index release for November 10 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.