The Prime Daily: 13 October 2026

The technology sector experienced broad weakness causing the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite to finish modestly lower. Investors shifted focus into value-oriented sectors, allowing the blue-chip Dow Jones to log a positive gain.  Warnings about artificial-intelligence sector valuations and a broader market rotation weighed particularly heavily on semiconductor and hardware stocks.

The Dow rose 0.38% to 51,850 while the S&P 500 was flat at 7,807 and the Nasdaq fell 0.44%. Micron dropped 3.9% on Chinese rival CXMT’s chip progress.

Investors are shifting their focus to corporate fundamentals as major financial institutions prepare to report their third-quarter performance. Banking giants including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup will kick off the corporate earnings season today. These upcoming reports are expected to provide key insights into how sustained high bond yields have impacted economic growth.

The dollar index is around 102.5, its highest since April 2025, on hawkish Fed expectations and safe-haven demand. EUR/USD is steady near 1.12 but pressured by France’s debt worries, weak Italian industrial output and fading ECB hike bets.

The US 10-year Treasury yield is around 5.3%, and the 30-year hit 5.70%, the highest since 2002, pressuring stocks, gold and crypto.

Brent surged to $107, now hovering near 105.5 following Houthi strikes on Riyadh’s airport. Crude oil benchmarks fell slightly as traders responded to reports of a potential Russia-Ukraine energy infrastructure ceasefire. Market participants remained cautious as the White House noted the unconfirmed truce focused heavily on refinery targets.

Cleveland Fed’s Hammack said fast, incremental tightening may be needed. Markets see about 81% odds of a hold on Oct. 28 but still expect a possible further hike by year-end.

September CPI is due Wednesday, with a 3.6% y/y consensus versus 3.4% in August. PPI follows Thursday, and Fed Chair Warsh speaks Friday at the IMF-World Bank meetings, where a hawkish tone could hit risk assets.

India’s retail inflation accelerated to 5.5% YoY in Sep 2026 from 4.82% in Aug-26, in line with expectations, as higher food and energy prices continued to feed into broader metrics. Core CPI edged up by 4.6% YoY in Sep-26, indicating a gradual broadening of price pressures beyond food and fuel. With headline inflation moving closer to the upper end of the RBI’s 2-6% target band, upside risks have intensified amid El Niño concerns, a deficient monsoon and elevated global commodity prices

The Indian rupee was the strongest performer among its Asian peers, appreciating 96 paise to close at 95.77. The move was supported by the RBI’s targeted measures to curb speculation and contain volatility in the forex market.

After opening higher, profit-taking set in almost immediately and persisted throughout yesterday’s session, pulling the Nifty nearly 250 points lower from its high to close near the day’s low. A sustained move above last week’s high of 22,776 would be needed to signal a bullish trend reversal. On the downside, 22,180 is near-term support; a break below it could signal a resumption of the downtrend.

Asian markets opened lower today, followed by Wall Street, as Technology stocks, particularly chipmakers, came under pressure as investors reduced exposure to growth-oriented shares ahead of earnings announcements and inflation readings.