S&P 500 Falls for a Third Day to 7,541 While the Dow Gains 213 Points as Money Leaves Tech on the Eve of the Midterms

On the other side, Brent crude fell about 7.6 percent to $104.77 on signs of US-Iran diplomatic progress, which lifted fuel-sensitive businesses. United Airlines rose 4.8 percent, Carnival 4.2 percent and Southwest 3.6 percent, while Amazon added about 2.2 percent and Tesla about 1 percent. Oil producers fell with the price of crude.

What did the economic data say?

Manufacturing is doing better than the stock market. The ISM manufacturing index rose to 55.5 from 54.5, above expectations, and its prices index eased to 75.2 from 77.9, STL.News reported. Longer-term Treasury yields moved lower, which is what you would expect with oil down 7 percent and inflation worries easing for a day.

For the year, the picture is still green. The S&P 500 is up 10.2 percent in 2026, the Dow 8.2 percent, the Nasdaq 8.3 percent and the Russell 2000 13.1 percent, on the AP's figures. But Monday's close is the S&P 500's lowest since July, and we covered last Thursday's record Alphabet drawdown and Friday's Intel slump as the reasons it got there.

What is on the calendar this week?

Tuesday is the midterm election, with control of both chambers of Congress on the ballot and investors positioning for whatever the result does to tax, tariff and spending expectations. AMD reports on Tuesday, Apple's numbers landed after Monday's close, and the October jobs report comes on Friday, 6 November, STL.News noted. A market that has sold tech for four sessions and bought everything else will need the earnings to make the case the AI capex is worth it, and it will need the election to pass without the counting disputes already being litigated in Alaska and California.