Stories we're tracking
The narratives the market is trading. Each one says how hot it's running, which tickers tell you, and what would end it. The Desk updates them as the briefs land.
Oil keeps climbing
Crude has climbed about 18% since Oct 5 on Middle East supply fears, lifting energy stocks and weighing on consumer names.
Crude jumped 4.32% and energy led at +2.60% while staples and discretionary fell.
Long yields near the highs
Long-term Treasury yields sit near multi-decade highs with the Fed still leaning toward another hike, so every move in long bonds reprices small caps, banks and big tech.
Long Treasuries gave back 0.49% as crude jumped 4.3%, a reminder that an oil shock can push yields back up.
The average stock catching up
Equal-weight and small caps take turns beating the big tech names that carried the market all year.
Selling was broad but shallow: equal-weight fell 0.77%, more than the S&P proxy.
The AI spending boom
Big tech keeps raising what it spends on AI data centers, and chipmakers trade on whether that spending looks safe.
Chips steadied at +0.71% while the Dow fell 1.23%, so the story paused rather than reversed.