Markets Midday: AI Trade Boosts Stocks, United Takes Off, eBay Layoffs 10-21-2026

0:02I'm Peter Schacknow, CNBC. Stocks are staging a modest rally amid renewed enthusiasm over the artificial intelligence trade. The Dow is up 144 points at 52 ,640, the S &P 500 adding a half percent or 40 points, the Nasdaq Composite leading the other major averages with a 1.1 percent gain or 290 points. That boost comes courtesy of quarterly results from SpaceX, which highlighted the potential of its terrestrial data centers, SpaceX up by 10%. Shares of United Airlines higher by 5%, despite quarterly profit that fell slightly below expectations amid a continuing rise in the cost of jet fuel. CEO Scott Kirby says, however, that United is still doing well despite that significant difficulty.

0:46Now we're burning less, but we're still solidly profitable. And we thought oil was going to be higher for longer, so we're not surprised by it. While airfares are up a lot this year, they're still down in real terms compared to 2019. And so we're just coming back to a normal where airlines have to price to a level that they can actually at least make a little bit of money. And so I hoped that would happen, but it really has happened this year. And I think that's a really strong sign that pricing is much more rational now. eBay is planning to lay off about 9 % of its workforce, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

1:16The cuts are designed to simplify operations and shift resources to faster-growing areas of the online marketplaces business. The stock is up more than 1 % today. And Apple is getting set for the debut of its iPhone Duo Friday. And it now says a limited number of the foldable phones will be available for walk-in customers that day. Peter Schachnow, CNBC. Introducing Fidelity Trader Plus. With customizable tools and charts you can access across all your devices. Try our most powerful trading platform yet at fidelity.com slash trader plus. Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC.

1:51Member NYSE SIPC.