Markets Midday: Oil, AI Concerns Hit Stocks, Airline Rally, Lower Jobless Claims 10-22-2026

0:02I'm Peter Schacknow, CNBC. It seems as if Wall Street can't go more than a few days before worries about artificial intelligence and higher oil prices cause a sell-off. And that's the case today with both the S &P 500 and NASDAQ taking hits. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is only down 18 points at 52 ,838. But the S &P 500 is lower by 1.1 percent or 84 points, and the Nasdaq Composite with a more than 2 percent loss or 552 points. Crude oil is up 1.3 percent today, and higher oil prices have been a significant factor in many corporate earnings reports, particularly airlines. It was a key factor in driving American airlines to a larger-than-expected quarterly loss, according to CEO Robert Isom.

0:47It's all fuel. That's the issue. Fuel in the third quarter up$1.9 billion. As we look out into the fourth quarter, up$2.8 billion. $7 billion more this year. I'm really pleased with the revenue growth. It shows that the initiatives that we're focused on are working. And investors seem to agree American Airlines stock is up more than 3 % today. Another airline stock jumping, Southwest Airlines up nearly 5%. Southwest beat Street forecasts with its earnings despite higher fuel prices. Here's CEO Bob Jordan. Despite jet fuel, our margins are going to be up nearly 5 points year over year. The only major airline to expand margins.

1:25So despite fuel, we are operating really, really well and there's huge demand for the Southwest product. We are not planning on fuel to go down. we're planning basically in the current environment. Even in that environment, we see opportunities to expand margins in 2027. If fuel comes down, that's a great thing, but we're not planning against that. As for the AI trade, the usual volatility has kicked into the downside after Facebook and Instagram parent meta platforms kept its capital expenditure plans for the quarter unchanged, and Tesla announced it would be spending less than planned. First-time claims for jobless benefits fell by$6 ,000 to$194 ,000 last week.

2:02According to the Labor Department, that is the fewest in three months. Peter Schachnow, CNBC.

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