Weekly Recap: Stocks Rally to End Volatile Week as Earnings Season Approaches

TLDR

• The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all rose Friday and posted weekly gains
• Oil prices fell after Trump said Putin agreed to release diesel supplies to the US
• Delta Air Lines reported third quarter earnings that missed expectations
• Tech stocks rebounded after an AI revenue scare earlier in the week
• Consumer sentiment fell to a five month low due to high gas prices

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US stocks closed higher on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%. The S&P 500 gained 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6%.

All three indexes ended the week with gains. This capped a week with sharp swings in both directions.

Earlier in the week, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both touched new highs. Then a report on Thursday caused a brief drop in tech shares.

What Happened With Delta and Oil Prices

Delta Air Lines released its third quarter results on Friday. The airline missed earnings expectations. Higher fuel costs offset gains in its premium travel business.

Delta’s report usually marks the unofficial start of earnings season. Major Wall Street banks will report their results next Tuesday.

Oil prices dropped on Friday. Brent crude futures traded near $104 per barrel. President Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to release diesel supplies to the United States and global markets.

BREAKING: President Trump says Russia’s President Putin has agreed to deliver 3 million tons of diesel fuel to the US. pic.twitter.com/MHjkfkhA0V

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 9, 2026

High oil prices have been pushing up gas prices and other costs for households. Gas prices have stayed near $4 per gallon this month.

The University of Michigan released its consumer sentiment survey on Friday. The survey showed confidence fell to its lowest point in five months.

The AI Revenue Scare and Market Recovery

On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that OpenAI’s annualized revenue reached $50 billion. This number fell about $20 billion short of analyst estimates.

The report caused a short drop in tech stocks. Investors worried the artificial intelligence boom might be slowing down.

Bloomberg later reported that OpenAI expects its annualized revenue to reach or exceed $70 billion by the end of the year. This report helped ease investor worries.

Tech stocks recovered on Friday following this update. The rebound helped lift the Nasdaq for the day.

Jeff Blazek, co-chief investment officer of multi-asset strategies at Neuberger Berman, commented on investor behavior heading into earnings season. He said the market tends to react quickly to any signs of slowing growth.

Wall Street now faces pressure to deliver another strong quarter of earnings growth. Expectations remain high across sectors.

The S&P 500 closed at 7,811.54 on Friday, up 46.18 points. The Dow closed at 51,654.95, up 423.31 points.

The Nasdaq closed at 27,366.17, up 172.83 points for the day. All three indexes will carry this momentum into next week’s earnings reports.