Market Midday: Stocks Mixed, Fed Rate Decision Ahead, Post-Midterm Rally Possible • 10/28/26

0:00See NBC Business News Update. Market Midday. I'm Jessica Ettinger. The major averages are mixed on Wall Street this afternoon. You've got the Dow up 130 points. It's being led higher by shares of Chevron, which are up more than 1%. The S &P 500 index up 14 points. The Nasdaq in the red. It's down 11 points this afternoon. Shares of NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Cerebra Systems are all lower. The other chip makers seem to be higher. It's a split. picture. Deutsche Bank's Bankim Chata tells CNBC next Tuesday's midterm elections could mean stocks go higher. Midterm election Q4s have been generally very positive.

0:4221 out of the last 23 saw, you know, the market rally. Average rally is 7 percent. Investors are waiting for a Fed decision on interest rates this afternoon, but they widely expect the Fed to hold rates steady. Investors, however, really want to hear commentary by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. Full coverage on CNBC TV and CNBC.com at 2 p.m. Eastern. Oil is spiking today. New Houthi attacks on a Saudi Arabian refinery. Here's CNBC's Pippa Stevens. Aramco's Rastanera refinery, that's the largest in the country, hit by a ballistic missile as the Houthis continue their attacks on Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure, with the U.S.

1:22reportedly warning Persian Gulf countries to be prepared for a short, intense military campaign after the midterms. That's according to The Wall Street Journal. Now, Iran is clearly feeling the pressure from depleted oil revenue. Eurasia Group saying Iran will resist U.S. pressure and mount an aggressive retaliation. U.S. crude close to$102 a barrel this afternoon. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular is$4.24. On this day last year, gas was about three bucks a gallon. Two big tech names reporting quarterly results after the closing bell today. Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet.

1:59More would-be homebuyers applied for riskier adjustable rate mortgages last week to the highest level in more than a year. Arms start the buyer out with a lower than average interest rate. But then the loan jumps up or adjusts after a set period of time. Today's average rate on a 30-year fixed home loan is 7.33 percent, according to Mortgage News Daily. The week before the U.S. sent missiles into Iran last February, the average was in the fives, 5.99 percent. Tonight's Powerball jackpot,$716 million. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. From gas prices to housing prices, from government spending to consumer spending, from the AI boom to the data center backlash.

2:45How will this election hit your pocketbook and your portfolio? Continuing coverage, the economy election, CNBC. This episode is brought to you by Schwab Market Update, an original podcast from Charles Schwab. Schwab Market Update, an original podcast from Charles Schwab, provides an information-packed daily market preview on stock updates, U.S. and global economic news, monetary policy decisions, and key results and statistics that may impact your trading. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com slash market update podcast or find Schwab Market Update wherever you get your podcasts.