Oil Sinks Below $100, Lifting Tech Stocks -- WSJ
Dow Jones2026/09/22 18:06By Caitlin McCabe
Falling oil prices are helping U.S. tech stocks stay buoyant today.
The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index rose modestly in afternoon trading, poised for a second straight record high. The Dow industrials slipped and the S&P 500 traded near flat. Brent crude futures ticked lower, falling below $100 a barrel after encouraging news about oil exports from the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia is running tests on its East-West pipeline and could restart flows as early as this week. The pipeline, a crucial route circumventing Hormuz, was recently closed after drone attacks. Japan's Kyodo News Agency separately reported that Iran has proposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its blockade.
President Trump addressed world leaders this morning at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, arguing that his overseas interventions had made the world safer. Investors are also eyeing whether a meeting between Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will materialize after Trump said over the weekend that he was "probably" open to it.
Government bond yields have firmed up following early declines. The 10-year Treasury yield is trading around 4.96%. Stocks tied to the artificial-intelligence trade are mixed after an enthusiastic reception for Meta's new AI agent lifted the sector yesterday.
This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2026 14:06 ET (18:06 GMT)
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Rapid rise in real interest rates, Goldman Sachs warns that 'systematic selling pressure' in US stocks is building at quarter-end
Goldman Sachs believes that the rapid rise in real interest rates has exerted more direct pressure on the US stock market, with rate-sensitive sectors such as small-cap and financial stocks being particularly affected. On the liquidity front, Goldman Sachs estimates that pension funds may sell around $3.3 billions in equities at the end of the month and quarter, and that CTAs may sell about $530 million worth of Russell 2000 index futures in the coming week. For the market, unless the issues of oil and interest rates are resolved, the AI narrative is "almost irrelevant."
USD/JPY falls below 157! The yen becomes the strongest G-10 currency, with the market betting on another rate hike by the central bank next month.
On Wednesday, the yen strengthened against the US dollar, with the USD/JPY rate falling below the 157 mark, as repeated warnings from the Japanese government regarding exchange rates and end-of-quarter capital flows provided support for the yen.
The scale of the compute power agreement between Anthropic and SpaceX has been revealed, reaching up to $84.5 billions, double the previously disclosed amount.
According to Anthropic’s IPO prospectus, the company has signed a computing power leasing agreement with SpaceX valued at $84.5 billion, far surpassing the previously disclosed $45 billion in SpaceX’s IPO documents. The agreement runs until 2029, with most terms cancellable within 90 days. At the same time, Anthropic’s total spending on AI infrastructure over the next decade is expected to be at least $518 billion.
KOSPI Index in South Korea falls by 0.3%
Crypto prices
More
