A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 19, 2026.
NYSE
U.S. stock futures were up early Wednesday as traders weighed the latest round of earnings reports.
S&P 500 futures gained 0.29% and Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.7%. Dow futures were flat.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 2.7%, rebounding from Tuesday’s losses. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.8%. The Hang Seng index declined 0.35%, while mainland China was flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed.
Shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX jumped 8% after the company said its revenue grew 161% in the third quarter. Musk also said that SpaceX and Tesla, his auto manufacturer, have formed special committees to discuss a merger. Tesla shares were up 1%.
In regular trading, the Dow Industrials advanced nearly 530 points, or 1%, buoyed by a post-earnings jump in 3M. Shares gained more than 5% after the industrial products company raised its full-year guidance for profit. The S&P 500 gained 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite ended the session marginally lower.
Oil prices ended the session slightly lower. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 1.8% on the day, while Brent crude futures lost 0.7%.
This earnings season could help propel stocks as the year winds down, according to Christian Mueller-Glissmann, head of asset allocation for Goldman Sachs Research.
“Near term there might be more volatility due to [artificial intelligence] concerns, Middle East tensions and midterm elections, but we think earnings support with lighter positioning and lower valuations should help equities into year-end,” he wrote in a note.
Concerns around the sustainability of the AI trade have weighed on market sentiment, with traders focusing on debt-backed AI investments and whether the infrastructure demand justifies companies’ spending. Data storage play Seagate Technology added 2% in Tuesday’s regular trading, while neocloud stock CoreWeave advanced more than 1%.
On Wednesday, investors can expect some more insight into the AI trade, with Meta Platforms due to report after the bell. Earlier this month, the company rolled out its latest AI model, Muse Wonder, which is only available to paying users.
Traders are also watching for results from Tesla, IBM and Southwest Airlines, all due Wednesday.
Australian data center operator NextDC’s shares plunge 40% after it slashes earnings forecast
Shares of Australia’s NextDC plunged 39.5% on Wednesday after the data center operator slashed its annual earnings forecast, citing power supply delays at its Melbourne facility amid local community and stakeholder opposition.
The company lowered its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to between $475 million Australian dollars and A$500 million, from A$615 million to A$640 million forecast earlier, while cutting its underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, forecast to A$245 million to A$265 million from A$385 million to A$410 million.
—Jenny Lee
CATL shares fall over 9% following third-quarter results
Shares of Chinese battery giant CATL fell 9.1% in Hong Kong and 9.2% in China on Wednesday after the company released its third-quarter results on Tuesday.
The company reported a 14.5% year-on-year rise in third-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders to 21.25 billion yuan ($3.18 billion), while revenue jumped 58.6% to 165.22 billion yuan.
Citi maintained its Buy rating on CATL but cut its 2026–2028 earnings forecasts by 9%, 14% and 15%, respectively, and lowered its price target for the company’s Shenzhen-listed shares to 479 yuan from 500 yuan.
The bank said CATL’s third-quarter net profit missed its expectations, citing weaker gross margins, higher expenses and impairment losses.
—Jenny Lee
South Korea’s stock exchange temporarily halts program trading
South Korea’s stock exchange briefly halted program trading after Kospi 200 futures surged 5%, triggering a so-called “sidecar” mechanism designed to curb excessive market volatility.
The five-minute trading curb came as South Korean equities staged a sharp rebound on Wednesday, with technology and semiconductor stocks recovering from a bruising sell-off earlier this week as investors assess prospects of the artificial-intelligence sector.
The benchmark Kospi Index was up 4.4%.
—Lee Ying Shan
Japan exports post huge miss in September as growth slows to 16.7%
Japan’s exports in September rose 16.7% from a year earlier, missing market expectations by a huge margin. Reuters-polled analysts had pegged exports growth at 20.1%.
This is the second straight month that shipments from Japan have recorded a slowdown, after hitting a near four-year high in July.
Growth was supported by continued strong semiconductor exports, with shipments rising 49.4% year on year by value.
Exports of machinery also bolstered growth, with semiconductor-related machinery shipments up 43.9% and power generation machinery exports climbing 22.6%.
In terms of destinations, shipments to mainland China — Japan’s largest trading partner — rose 8.6%, while exports to the U.S. climbed 22.9%.
—Lim Hui Jie
Asia tech stocks rebound as AI optimism returns; Elice surges nearly 30% after bruising debut
Asian technology stocks staged a broad rebound on Wednesday as optimism surrounding SpaceX’s latest quarterly results helped revive sentiment toward artificial intelligence infrastructure investments following a bruising selloff.
South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix surging 6.38%, while rival Samsung Electronics climbed 5.03%.
Shares of South Korean artificial intelligence infrastructure provider Elice soared 29.92%, recovering ground after plunging over 30% in its trading debut Tuesday. The sharp reversal came after the company’s disappointing debut reignited concerns over whether heavy spending on AI infrastructure would translate into sustainable profits.
Japanese semiconductor stocks also rallied, with chip-testing equipment maker Advantest jumping 5.31%, while Tokyo Electron gained 3.02%. Technology investment giant SoftBank Group rose 4.70%.
“The SpaceX quarter and what this indicates for the neoclouds is very bullish globally and the Korean stocks have sold off way too much in my view,” said Dan Ives, Tech Analyst at Yorkville Ives.
—Lee Ying Shan
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rises over 1%, South Korean stocks gain 2%
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Wednesday, with South Korean stocks leading gains.
The Kospi advanced 1.8%, rebounding from Tuesday’s losses, while the tech-focused Kosdaq Index jumped over 2%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.4%, while the Topix added 0.93%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat.
— Lee Ying Shan
Asia-Pacific markets set to rebound after Wall Street gains on strong earnings, easing oil prices
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Wednesday, after Wall Street rose overnight on the back of strong corporate earnings and easing oil prices.
Futures for Japan’s Nikkei 225 in Chicago were at 65,355, while in Osaka they were lats at 65,210, compared with the index’s previous close of 64,075.42
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index last traded at 24,001, higher than the index’s last close of 23,867.74.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.27%.
— Lee Ying Shan
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: SpaceX, Netflix & more
Intuitive Surgical — The medical robotics stock fell about 7% as the company’s third-quarter results failed to impress investors. Intuitive Surgical earned $3 per share, excluding certain items, on revenue of $3.05 billion.
SpaceX — Shares gained almost 7% after the Elon Musk-led rocket company reported a 161% jump in third-quarter revenue to $14.58 billion. Musk also said that SpaceX and Tesla, his auto manufacturer, have formed special committees to discuss a merger. Tesla shares were up 1%.
Netflix — Shares of Netflix fell more than 5% after the streaming giant reported third quarter revenue that was in line with Wall Street’s expectations. Sales came in at $12.87 billion, up 12% year over year, boosted by growth in membership and an increase in subscription prices that went into effect in March, the company said.
Read more about Tuesday’s after-hours movers here.
—Darla Mercado
U.S. stock futures open higher Tuesday night
U.S. stock futures were up Tuesday night as traders weighed the latest round of earnings reports.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.47% and Nasdaq-100 futures added nearly 1%.
— Deena Zaidi