Update: Wall Street Caps Choppy Week Lower as Oil Prices Soar

05:00 PM EDT, 10/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with market moves at the end of the day, and other changes, if any.) US stocks fell Friday, wrapping up a choppy week on Wall Street amid anxiety over surging oil prices and artificial intelligence-related corporate spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.2% to 52,215.16, closing in the red for the first time in four days. The S&P 500 shed 0.5% to settle at 7,623.68, while the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.2% to 25,955.34. Most sectors ended in the red, led by consumer staples, while energy saw the biggest gain. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 4.1% at $103.59 a barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade, while Brent jumped 3.4% to $117. Brent is on track for the five consecutive weekly gain. Iran's military is fully prepared for "asymmetric warfare," state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported Thursday, citing the nation's army chief. The report comes as the US and Israel have drawn up specific plans to resume military operations against Iran after the midterm elections in November, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing sources. "Markets are increasingly worried about renewed escalation in the Persian Gulf, a scenario that could threaten oil flows that have so far remained remarkably resilient," ING Bank said in Friday report. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have continued to strike Saudi Arabia, CNBC reported. "Brent has climbed above $114 per barrel and is heading for its highest weekly close since June 2022 as attacks on Saudi Arabian infrastructure raise fears of wider Middle East supply disruptions," Saxo Bank said in Friday report. This week, the Nasdaq lost 0.7%, with the technology-heavy index recording its biggest one-day percentage drop since June 5 on Thursday. The S&P 500 dipped 0.5%, posting back-to-back weekly declines. The Dow logged a gain of 0.4%, marking its third consecutive weekly advance. "Equity markets were on a ride this week as momentum deflated out of the AI trade, triggering some wide market rotation," BMO said in a report. Treasury yields were higher, with the 10-year rate up 4.8 basis points at 5% and the two-year rate rising 5.1 basis points to 4.69%. "Investors continued to assess the recent selloff in AI-related stocks, driven by concerns over the sector's substantial capital requirements," D.A. Davidson said in a note Friday. In economic news, US consumer sentiment dropped to its lowest level in five months in October as inflation expectations hit the highest since May, final results of a University of Michigan survey showed. US private-sector growth eased in October, while employment increased and selling prices rose at the sharpest rate since August 2022, S&P Global's (SPGI) flash purchasing managers' index showed Friday. In company news, American Express (AXP) reported third-quarter revenue just below Wall Street's expectations, while the payments company's chief executive disclosed plans to terminate about 5% of its global workforce. The stock fell 3.7%, the worst performer on the Dow. SLB (SLB) reported better-than-expected third-quarter results as a surge in North America revenue and momentum in its data center business offset Middle East headwinds. The oilfield services company's shares jumped 7.1%, among the biggest gains on the S&P 500. Deckers Outdoor (DECK) slumped 4.9%. Truist Securities said the footwear designer and distributor's sales guidance cut amid an increasingly promotional US marketplace has fueled growth durability concerns. Spot gold dipped 0.7% to $3,997.05 per troy ounce, while silver lost 1.9% to $53.97 per ounce.