Weekly Market Review: 05th October 2026

In the United States, oil and the outlook for interest rates set the tone for most of the week, while technology shares held up better than the rest of the market. Shares fell on Monday after President Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which sent crude oil prices higher, giving the S&P 500 its worst day since August. Boeing lost 6.9% after a delay to the certification of its 737 MAX 10, and Tesla fell 13.5% over the week after a broker cut its target, while Nvidia gained 1.6% after authorising a $150 billion share buyback. This breaks the record set by Apple in 2024, when they repurchased $110bn worth of shares. Along with this, the company announced it had authorised spending on buybacks of $235bn through fiscal year 2028. Trading was quieter on Tuesday, after comments from the New York Fed that there was no urgency to raise rates again. On Wednesday, softer inflation figures lifted technology shares and the NASDAQ edged higher, although the broader market slipped. That left the NASDAQ almost 2% higher over the third quarter and the S&P 500 slightly lower. After the close, Micron forecast quarterly revenue well above expectations and stated that long-term supply commitments had grown to $32 billion, supporting chipmakers before Thursday’s open. Elsewhere, Google unveiled its newest version of its most advanced AI model, which it claims can match or beat rival models from companies such as OpenAI or Anthrophic. The Gemini 4 Argon model is built for proficiency in areas such as coding, cyber security and science. After a positive Friday session, fueled by a weaker than expected non-farm payrolls report, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ finished the week higher, up 0.24% and 1.01% respectively.

In Europe, shares came under steady pressure from rising inflation and interest-rate worries. A 2.5% jump in technology shares on Tuesday was not enough to offset weakness in banks, energy and food producers. Higher than expected inflation figures from Germany, France and Italy weighed on investor sentiment on Wednesday, when insurers fell 1.4%. Thursday brought a further fall, led by the banks, taking the region to its lowest level since mid-September. For the week, the Euro Stoxx 50 and STOXX Europe 600 closed 1.11% and 1.38% lower, respectively.

In the United Kingdom, housebuilders surged on Monday after the announcement of a new homebuyer support scheme, led by Barratt Redrow (+11.7%), with Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Bellway also posting strong gains. Mining stocks fell as precious metal prices weakened, with Fresnillo down 5.1%. Energy shares weighed on the market on Tuesday, contributing to the FTSE 100’s largest monthly decline since March, before a broader market sell-off on Thursday. The index finished the week down 2.40%.