🗞 Newsmakers — MID ET, 2026-10-23

📊 MARKET MACRO: S&P 500 $761.71 -0.29% Nasdaq $706.75 +0.32% Dow $522.61 -1.00% Russell 2K $275.78 -0.32% VIX $19.83 +4.20% US Dollar $28.95 +0.19% Oil $168.55 +3.72% Gold $366.66 -0.63% Bitcoin $81,442.86 +0.16% Treasuries: 10Y 5.13% 30Y 5.42% Today's Fed / econ events: 19:30 [Medium] CFTC Nasdaq 100 speculative net positions 19:30 [Medium] CFTC Crude Oil speculative net positions 19:30 [Medium] CFTC Gold Speculative net positions 19:30 [Medium] CFTC S&P 500 speculative net positions 14:00 [High] Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Oct) 13:45 [Medium] S&P Global Services PMI (Oct) 13:45 [Medium] S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (Oct) 13:45 [Medium] S&P Global Composite PMI (Oct)

🔥 HOT SECTORS TODAY (the sectors to watch): Energy +3.10% Financial Services +1.49% Technology +1.37% Communication Services +0.91%

📰 MARKET THEMES & CATALYSTS: • Cheniere Energy Boosts LNG Contract Backlog With QatarEnergy Deal Cheniere Energy secures 4 mtpa in long-term LNG supply agreements with QatarEnergy through 2054, supporting future demand and its planned Sabine Pass expansion. — zacks.com · 10/23 12:21p https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/3014062/cheniere-energy-boosts-lng-contract-backlog-with-qatarenergy-deal?cid=CS-STOCKNEWSAPI-FT-analyst_blog|company_news_energy_sector-3014062 • U.S. Government Takes a Cut of Chip Business in Japan-Funded Deal President Trump's novel deal-making is on display in upstate New York, where the administration is funneling Japanese funds into a government-owned chip factory. — nytimes.com · 10/23 11:59a https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/business/economy/us-japan-chip-deal.html • A $100 Billion Liquidity Drain May Hit Markets Next Week Treasury bill settlements will inject $106.1 billion in net new cash next week, intensifying liquidity headwinds for risk assets. Historical data show that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 exhibit a bearish bias on T-bill settlement days versus non-settlement days. — seekingalpha.com · 10/23 11:55a https://seekingalpha.com/article/4956991-a-100-billion-liquidity-drain-may-hit-markets-next-week • Memory stocks on the move: What you need to know CNBC's Seema Mody reports on memory stocks. — youtube.com · 10/23 11:54a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTGjwOS898s • Inflation Is 3.7%, but This Hidden Cost of Living Is Up 115% Official inflation data shows prices rising at 3.7%, but a separate government report exposes a staggering cost surge that businesses are already absorbing and that households may not feel until they reach the checkout counter. — 247wallst.com · 10/23 11:50a https://247wallst.com/economy/2026/10/23/inflation-is-3-7-but-this-hidden-cost-of-living-is-up-115/

🐘 BIG-CAP MOVERS ON NEWS (≥$10B — the MRVL-class catalysts):

1. SOXL +4% $85.14 (24B cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

2. NOK +3% $8.13 (44B cap) Nokia Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Growth and 2027 Outlook NOK's Q3 earnings show accelerating AI demand and stronger 2027 growth prospects, despite capacity constraints, margin pressures and rising cash needs. — zacks.com · 10/23 11:30a https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/3014071/nokia-q3-earnings-call-highlights-ai-growth-and-2027-outlook?cid=CS-STOCKNEWSAPI-FT-analyst_blog_plus|earnings_call_takeaways-3014071

3. XLE +3% $69.70 (46B cap) Lower Fees, Higher Yield: Why XLE Tops XOP State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF offers a lower expense ratio and higher dividend yield than State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration; Production ETF. State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF is highly concentrated in large-cap giants, while State Street SPDR S&P… — fool.com · 10/23 8:45a https://www.fool.com/coverage/etfs/2026/10/23/lower-fees-higher-yield-why-xle-tops-xop/

4. SPCX +2% $147.88 (1950B cap) AT&T Stock Sinks on Subscriber and SpaceX Worries. Is the Stock a Buy on the Dip? AT&T turned in solid Q3 results, but the company was unable to ease investors' fears over potential competition coming from SpaceX. AT&T has a solid growth outlook, but I'd wait for a further pullback before buying the stock. — fool.com · 10/23 12:23p https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/23/att-stock-sinks-on-subscriber-and-spacex-worries-i/

5. INTC +2% $87.21 (461B cap) Hyperscalers Microsoft, Amazon Line Up With Earnings, Along With ServiceNow, Intel Microsoft stock is an anomaly in the beaten-up AI sector as the large-cap hyperscaler holds near highs ahead of its fiscal Q4 report. — investors.com · 10/23 11:11a https://www.investors.com/research/earnings-preview/microsoft-stock-earnings-amazon-earnings-alphabet-earnings/

📈 TOP 3 GAINERS (small/mid-cap % leaders, with catalyst):

1. LU +877% $8.21 (7.1B cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

2. RHI +20% $45.20 (4.6B cap) Robert Half: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors Third-quarter net income per share increased 14% to $0.49. Talent Solutions revenues grew 2% on an adjusted basis. — fool.com · 10/23 11:15a https://www.fool.com/earnings/takeaways/2026/10/23/robert-half-3-key-takeaways-for-long-term-investors/

3. IMC +14% $7.99 (845M cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

— auto-generated, alert-only (not investment advice). 'No fresh news' = likely a technical/low-float move, not a catalyst.