Brent closes at $115.72 as supply threats mount and Brinker raises outlook
Key Facts
Brent crude closed at $115.72 a barrel on October 28, while West Texas Intermediate ended the session at $103.30, according to EL7 data. Brent prices had risen $1.81, or 1.6%, to $115.69 at 10:42 a.m. Eastern time, according to Reuters via Investing.com. Crude rose amid renewed supply concerns after the Houthis said they had targeted the Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia. Reuters described the facility as a refinery with capacity of 550,000 barrels per day and said Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the attack. The developments put oil at the forefront of the session's moves, while U.S. stocks remained mixed ahead of the Federal Reserve decision.
Reuters' stock market snapshot at 10:01 a.m. showed the S&P 500 up 6.10 points, or 0.09%, at 7,729.20, while the Nasdaq fell 7.13 points, or 0.03%, to 26,470.68. The report attributed the divergence to weakness in megacap stocks, including Tesla and Apple, offset by gains in chipmakers following SK Hynix's results. Micron rose 4.8% to its highest level in more than two weeks, according to the report. This came as investors awaited results from Microsoft and Alphabet after Wednesday's market close, while tracking capital spending plans tied to artificial intelligence. These factors painted a mixed picture of the session, with some technology stocks under pressure and semiconductor companies gaining.
Brinker reported first-quarter results for its fiscal 2027, ended September 23, 2026, with total revenue of $1,475.6 million, compared with $1,349.2 million in the corresponding period of its previous fiscal year. In a statement, the company raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to a range of $6.23 billion to $6.33 billion, from a previous range of $6.15 billion to $6.27 billion. The guidance revision raised both ends of the annual forecast range, with the figures presented as the two ranges announced by the company. The results and updated outlook were among the corporate news coinciding with a session that also saw moves in oil and stocks. These figures alone do not establish a link between Brinker’s results and movements in stock indexes.
In the energy market, the open U.S. Energy Information Administration page did not support the inventory draw figures cited in the first draft; the latest weekly report shown there was the October 21, 2026 edition. In this coverage, oil's movement remains tied to recorded prices and the supply concerns Reuters reported regarding the Ras Tanura refinery. According to the same report, OPEC+ producers were expected to leave December output targets unchanged at Sunday's meeting. This adds the producers' upcoming decision to the market's monitoring of supply developments.
On monetary policy, the Federal Reserve held its meeting on October 27 and 28 and scheduled a press conference by the Federal Open Market Committee for October 28 at 2:30 p.m., according to the central bank's calendar. The Associated Press had reported ahead of the decision that the Fed was likely to leave rates unchanged, with inflation still above its 2% target. In economic data, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis scheduled the advance estimate of third-quarter GDP and the September personal income and outlays report for October 29 at 8:30 a.m. Reuters reported that GDP data were due Thursday, with growth of 3.2% expected in the third quarter. These dates remain key market watchpoints after the October 28 session, alongside Microsoft and Alphabet results scheduled after Wednesday's close.