The Saturday Edge – week ending 16 October 2026
Your free, factual look at what markets did this week (Monday 12 to Friday 16 October 2026) and what's coming up next.
1. Week at a glance
Technology shares had a difficult week. Worries about heavily borrowed AI infrastructure companies, plus US inflation figures that came in higher than expected, pushed the Nasdaq down 4.5%, its worst week since June. Money moved towards defensive, energy and defence shares instead, and the FTSE 100 rose 3.1%, its best week since April. Brent crude stayed above $100 a barrel, and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 5.4%.
2. Equities
Index | Fri close | Week | Year to date |
FTSE 100 | 10,881.90 | +3.1% | +9.6% |
FTSE 250 | 24,533.90 | +1.3% | +9.8% |
S&P 500 | 7,659.44 | −1.9% | +11.9% |
Nasdaq Composite | 26,140.03 | −4.5% | +12.5% |
Dow Jones | 52,002.41 | +0.7% | +8.2% |
Euro Stoxx 50 | 6,204.23 | +0.5% | +7.1% |
DAX | 25,622.61 | +2.1% | +4.6% |
Nikkei 225 | 65,324.29 | −5.4% | +29.8% |
Hang Seng | 24,186.83 | −0.1% | −5.6% |
MSCI Emerging Markets | n/a | n/a | n/a |
MSCI Emerging Markets: Friday's close wasn't available at the time of writing. On Thursday 15 October the index closed at 1,607.59, down 5.9% from the previous Friday. Year-to-date figures for the FTSE 100, FTSE 250, DAX, Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng are worked out from each index's 2025 closing level.
3. Bonds and rates
Measure | Level | This week |
UK 10-year gilt yield | 5.40% | Down about 0.04 points |
US 10-year Treasury yield | 5.09% | Down about 0.14 points |
Bank of England Bank Rate | 3.75% | Unchanged (last cut 18 Dec 2025) |
US Federal Reserve target range | 3.75%–4.00% | Unchanged (raised 0.25 points on 16 Sep 2026) |
Next decisions: the Federal Reserve on Wednesday 28 October and the Bank of England on Thursday 5 November.
4. Currencies
Pair | Fri level | This week |
GBP/USD | 1.3328 | n/a (up 0.4% on Friday) |
GBP/EUR | 1.1839 | +0.2% |
US dollar index | 101.80 | −0.4% |
The pound rose on Friday after stronger-than-expected UK growth figures. The dollar index had its first weekly fall in four weeks.
5. Commodities
Commodity | Fri level | This week |
Brent crude | $106.25 a barrel | +1.5% |
Gold | $4,174.49 an ounce | −0.5% |
Silver | $57.86 an ounce | −4.8% |
Copper (COMEX) | $6.60 a pound | −0.6% |
6. Bitcoin
Bitcoin was at about $81,622 on Friday evening, down 1.0% over seven days (CoinGecko).
7. Risk and sentiment
VIX (US 'fear gauge'): n/a for Friday's close. It closed at 16.46 on Thursday, up from 14.84 the previous Friday.
CNN Fear & Greed index: n/a this week (the page couldn't be read at the time of writing).
8. Top 5 risers and fallers
FTSE 100 (Friday 16 October only)
A reliable full-week list wasn't available, so this covers Friday's session.
Risers | Change | Fallers | Change |
Babcock | +3.6% | Scottish Mortgage | −3.1% |
WPP | +3.1% | AstraZeneca | −2.0% |
Kingfisher | +2.9% | Alliance Witan | −1.2% |
Autotrader | +2.8% | NatWest | −1.2% |
Weir | +2.6% | British Land | −1.2% |
S&P 500 (five sessions to Thursday 15 October close)
A list covering Monday to Friday wasn't available, so this covers the five trading days to Thursday's close.
Risers | Change | Fallers | Change |
Moderna | +20.1% | Super Micro Computer | −18.0% |
Humana | +11.6% | Dell Technologies | −17.6% |
CDW | +10.3% | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | −17.4% |
Veeva Systems | +9.9% | Coherent | −17.1% |
eBay | +9.8% | Lumentum | −17.1% |
Naming a share here is a record of how its price moved, not a comment on the company.
9. UK tax and regulation watch
Wednesday 28 October: Autumn Budget 2026. The Office for Budget Responsibility publishes its forecast the same day.
Saturday 31 October: deadline for paper Self Assessment returns for the 2025-26 tax year.
Saturday 7 November: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Second quarterly update (6 April to 5 October) due for sole traders and landlords in the scheme. HMRC has said it won't give penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026-27, but all updates are needed before the tax return can be filed.
Thursday 3 December: the Scottish Budget for 2027-28 is due to be set out at Holyrood (as reported).
Wednesday 30 December: file online by this date if you want tax owed collected through your PAYE tax code.
Sunday 31 January 2027: online Self Assessment return and payment deadline for 2025-26, including any first payment on account.
From 6 April 2027: the government plans to cut the annual cash ISA limit to £12,000 for under-65s (over-65s keep £20,000). The consultation result hasn't been published yet.
10. Week ahead
Mon 19 Oct: China third-quarter GDP. US housing market index.
Tue 20 Oct: UK labour market figures (7am). US housing starts. Results: Netflix, GE Aerospace, General Motors, 3M, RTX; Bunzl trading update in the UK.
Wed 21 Oct: UK CPI inflation for September and public finances (7am). Results: Tesla, Meta, IBM, SAP; SEGRO in the UK.
Thu 22 Oct: US weekly jobless claims. Results: Barclays, RELX, LSEG, IHG, Rentokil; Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin, Comcast, Blackstone in the US.
Fri 23 Oct: UK retail sales for September (7am). UK, eurozone and US flash PMI surveys. GfK UK consumer confidence. Final University of Michigan US consumer sentiment. Results: American Express.
Central banks: no Bank of England, Federal Reserve, ECB or Bank of Japan decision this week. Next up: Fed (Wed 28 Oct), ECB (Thu 29 Oct), Bank of Japan (Fri 30 Oct), Bank of England (Thu 5 Nov).
11. Sources
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ndgo edge™ provides financial coaching and education, not regulated financial advice. The Saturday Edge is factual information only, not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Figures are as at Friday's close where available and may be delayed. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
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