Asian stocks started Monday, October 26, cautiously, Brent retreated from a six-month high, and gold recovered modestly as investors faced a crowded week of central-bank meetings and earnings.
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3 The available evidence supports those broad moves, but does not verify all the detailed policy forecasts and economic-calendar figures in your question.
Markets and oil
- Asian equities: The Nikkei 225 fell about 0.8% after losing 4% the previous week, while MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan eased 0.1%.
1 Insufficient evidence to establish the Kospi’s precise partial recovery, its stated 2.08% weekly decline, or the associated foreign-selling figures.
- Brent crude: Brent fell 1.9% to $114.48 a barrel following reports that Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday, working with the United States to de-escalate regional tensions; that followed a 6.2% gain the previous week.
9 The evidence confirms a retreat from a six-month high, but does not establish the claim that Friday was its highest weekly close since mid-2022.
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- Gold: Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,010.51 an ounce by 0544 GMT as softer oil prices tempered inflation concerns.
3 It had fallen 4% the preceding week—its steepest weekly decline since June—and touched its lowest level since mid-July.
4 Earlier Monday it was down 0.2%, so the later gain represents an intraday rebound rather than conflicting reporting.
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- Geopolitical impact: Continuing Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia kept supply-disruption fears alive, while the Qatari mediation reports helped unwind some of oil’s recent gains.
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11 Reuters described oil’s inflationary impulse as a concern for central banks meeting that week, with rate increases viewed as a matter of time even if some banks initially held steady.
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Central-bank expectations
- Federal Reserve: I don’t know from the supplied evidence whether markets, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan all expected an October 27–28 hold, or exactly how their subsequent rate forecasts differed. Insufficient evidence to verify the stated 3.75%–4% benchmark range, September’s 25-basis-point increase, roughly 80% December-hike probability, or a “shallow” global hiking cycle.
- Bank of Japan: A separately verified expectation was a hawkish pause on Friday, with language about inflation-overshoot risks potentially signalling a hike as soon as December.
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Earnings and inflation watch
- AI earnings: The verified overarching issue was whether company results would sustain confidence in the AI boom.
1 Earlier reporting highlighted concerns about data-centre debt, AI infrastructure financing, and high and rising interest rates.
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7 For the companies you name, the practical question is whether AI-related revenue, margins and cash flow justify the spending; however, the supplied evidence does not verify their reporting dates or the claim that roughly one-third of S&P 500 companies were reporting.
- US PCE and Australian inflation: Insufficient evidence to confirm Thursday’s September PCE release and expected 3.1% core inflation, or Wednesday’s Australian third-quarter report and a greater-than-60% probability of an early-November RBA increase to 4.85%. Those figures should not be treated as independently verified here.