Tech Leads Decline as Nasdaq Falls; Europe Mixed — market brief, October 14, 2026

Markets at a glance

US indices closed lower on October 13, with the Nasdaq-100 falling 0.31% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.35%. The S&P 500 saw a slight decline of 0.02%, while the Russell 2000 fell 0.40%. In Europe, results were mixed on October 14: the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.38% and the CAC 40 gained 0.58%, whereas the DAX dipped slightly by 0.03% on October 13. The FTSE 100 declined by 0.06%. Asian markets also saw movement, with the Nikkei 225 dropping 1.82% and the Hang Seng Index rising 0.33% on October 13. The MSCI World index fell 1.03%, and Emerging Markets dropped 1.95%. Bitcoin declined by 1.57%, while gold fell slightly by 0.12%.

Biggest movers

Technology stocks faced significant pressure, with Dell Technologies Inc falling 11.33%, Akamai Technologies dropping 8.29%, and Coherent Corp declining 8.07%. Bloom Energy also saw a decrease of 8.83%. In contrast, Russian equities showed strength. AFK system rose 6.62%, Severstal gained 6.21%, and MKPAO Ozone increased by 5.08%. Magnitogorsk metallurgical plant and Rostelecom also posted gains of 4.78% and 4.52%, respectively. Sector-wise, Consumer Staples led with a 0.65% rise, while Technology lagged with a 2.56% decline.

Sectors

Sector performance diverged across major economies. Consumer Staples led the way with a daily gain of 0.65%, followed by Utilities at 0.34% and Health Care at 0.29%. Conversely, Technology was the weakest sector, falling 2.56%, while Consumer Discretionary declined by 1.37% and Industrials dropped 0.90%. These movements reflect broader market trends where defensive sectors outperformed cyclical and tech-heavy categories during the recent trading sessions.

Rates and macro

Policy rates remain distinct across regions: the Fed funds target stands at 3.75–4.00%, the ECB deposit rate is 2.50%, and the Bank of Russia’s key rate is 14.00%. US inflation data shows mixed signals, with headline CPI at 3.717% year-over-year and core CPI at 2.566%. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, while nonfarm payrolls increased by 29,000 in September. Initial jobless claims stood at 197,000. Real GDP growth was recorded at 2.22% annualised. The yield curve remains flat, with the spread between the US 10-year and 2-year Treasury yields at +0.44 percentage points. Inflation trends are rising, as US core CPI annualised over the last three months is 3.4%, compared to 2.6% over twelve months. Euro-area HICP inflation is 3.8% year-over-year. This is general information, not investment advice.