US Stocks Close Mixed as Q3 Earnings Season Opens

US equity indexes finished mixed on Monday, October 12, 2026, as investors positioned for a week of third-quarter bank results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.32% at a 2.5-week high, the S&P 500 added 0.09%, and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.35%, according to Nasdaq.

Chipmakers and AI-infrastructure names led the decline, while software and energy shares advanced. Goldman Sachs raised its three-month view on global equities to overweight from neutral during the session, and Nasdaq’s report quoted the bank saying earnings growth remains supportive and that a recent valuation de-rating had improved the setup into the quarter.

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Key facts

• The Dow rose 0.32%, the S&P 500 gained 0.09% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.35% on October 12, Nasdaq reported; the Dow touched a 2.5-week high.
• Bloomberg Intelligence data cited by Nasdaq put Q3 S&P 500 profit growth at about 25% year over year, up from a July estimate of 22%.
• Q3 earnings season begins this week with US money center banks. Coincentral reported JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup report Tuesday, with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley on Wednesday.
• Coincentral reported the September Consumer Price Index is due Wednesday, with economists expecting a 3.6% annual rise after 3.4% in August.
• The cash Treasury market was closed Monday for the Columbus Day bank holiday, limiting market activity, according to Nasdaq.

Bank results open the season under a cloud

Nasdaq reported that Q3 earnings season starts when US money center banks report. Coincentral supplied the specific dates: the Tuesday slate includes JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, alongside UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson, with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley following Wednesday. The same report said BlackRock and ASML also report Wednesday and Taiwan Semiconductor reports Thursday.

Coincentral reported that bank shares have struggled into the print. It said the financial sector fell about 4% over the past month, the second-worst result among S&P 500 sectors, and that the five major banks lost roughly $270 billion in market value. A Truist Securities study cited by Coincentral found only 35% of institutional investors expect bank stocks to beat the market, down from 68% in July. Analysts expect bank profits to fall from the prior quarter, with trading and investment banking revenue also expected to decline. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said in late September that trading in fixed income, currencies and commodities had been softer than a year earlier.

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Semiconductors slide, software climbs

Nasdaq reported weakness in chipmakers and AI-infrastructure stocks as a drag on the Nasdaq 100. Sandisk fell more than 6%, Micron Technology dropped more than 3%, and Advanced Micro Devices, Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA Corp, Microchip Technology, Texas Instruments and Western Digital each lost more than 2%. ARM Holdings, Intel, NXP Semiconductors, Analog Devices and Qualcomm were down more than 1%. Aside from the Truist and Taiwan Semiconductor items, Coincentral’s chip coverage is limited to noting TSMC beat profit estimates last quarter but saw its shares fall after the report — a detail Nasdaq did not carry. Only Nasdaq’s report cited Lumentum Holdings among the decliners.

Software was the strongest pocket. Salesforce jumped 3% to lead Dow gainers after Bank of America Global Research double-upgraded it to buy from underperform with a $285 price target, Nasdaq reported. ServiceNow rose more than 3%, while Intuit and Workday gained more than 2%. Energy producers also advanced as WTI crude rose more than 1% on Middle East tensions, with APA Corp, Diamondback Energy, Phillips 66 and Valero Energy each up more than 2%.

Why it matters

The week sets the tone for whether the rally in equities can broaden beyond a handful of leaders. Bank results will show how much higher-for-longer rates are helping lending margins versus crimping borrowing, a tension Coincentral flagged as a possible reason bank shares have slumped. The same report noted the Fed raised rates by a quarter point in September, its first hike in three years, taking the target range to 3.75% to 4%, and that Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation is too high. Traders price roughly 80% odds of an October increase, according to Coincentral, while Nasdaq reported markets discounting a 19% chance of a quarter-point hike at the October 27-28 FOMC meeting — a wide gap between the two outlets’ figures.

What to watch

Nasdaq reported markets are discounting a 12% chance of a quarter-point ECB hike at the ECB’s October 29 meeting, and that the October 27-28 FOMC meeting is the next Fed decision point. Coincentral listed the September CPI on Wednesday as the data release most likely to shape it, along with September PPI and Fed Chair Warsh’s remarks on Thursday.

Prices and expectations here remain uncertain, and nothing above is financial advice.

Written by

Benjamin

Benjamin Carter covers business, finance, and the stock market for StockPil, focusing on the trends and data that matter to everyday investors.

Sources: Nasdaq, Coincentral