Dow Jumps 529 Points as Oil Backs Off Six-Month Highs; GM Slides Despite Earnings Beat

Wall Street got a break from oil on Tuesday, and that was enough to send the Dow sharply higher, even as a big automaker and a handful of AI names held the rest of the market back.

The day was a tug-of-war between energy prices, Iran headlines and a busy slate of earnings reports. Here is what moved, why it moved, and what it could mean for everyday investors.

How did the stock market do on Oct. 20, 2026?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 529 points, or about 1%, to close at 52,495.88 on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The S&P 500 gained 0.28% to 7,712.57, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.02% to 26,424.82. Easing oil prices and strong earnings lifted most sectors, while AI-related stocks stayed choppy.

The rally was broad. According to Reuters' Trading Day column, nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by health care, which gained 2.3%. Communication services was the weakest group, down 0.9%. Smaller companies did even better than the big names: the Russell 2000 small-cap index jumped 1.7%, its biggest gain since Aug. 4.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq could not keep up. The Associated Press noted that AI-related stocks saw "more swings." Reuters pointed out that so-called neocloud companies, which rent out AI computing power, have been under heavy pressure: Iren has lost almost 50% in the past month, and CoreWeave and Nebius have each fallen about 35% in two weeks as investors worry about their heavy borrowing and spending. Meta Platforms fell about 1.6% for its fifth straight decline ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday.

**Related read:** As we explained in our breakdown of the Nasdaq's worst week since June, worries about AI debt have been weighing on tech stocks for weeks, which helps explain why the Nasdaq lagged even on an up day.

Why did oil prices reverse?

Oil started the day hot. Both Brent and U.S. crude hit six-month highs during the session, with Brent near $112 a barrel, according to Reuters. Then prices turned lower after an unconfirmed report that the U.S. and Iran were close to a deal. Bloomberg later reported that claims of a close agreement were inaccurate, but the selling had already taken some air out of the rally.