Markets

Business cooled, and prices rose.

S&P Global’s flash composite slipped to 57.6 from 58.4 on Friday, Reuters reported. The prices gauge rose to 59.8, the highest since August 2022. The market is closed Sunday. This is not the Dow.

The Rocket News · Business Desk · WashingtonOctober 25, 2026 · 2 min read

A worker in a red bandana and safety glasses reaches into a vehicle frame on a Rivian assembly line.

WASHINGTON — Business activity cooled in October, and prices did not. S&P Global said Friday its flash composite index slipped to 57.6 from a five-year high of 58.4 in September, Reuters reported. A reading above 50 is expansion. The gauge of prices companies charge rose to 59.8, the highest since August 2022, from 58.4. New orders rose to 58.2 from 58.1, the highest since March 2022. Factory hiring reached its highest level since March 2012. “Cost pressures remain a key concern,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Supply chain bottlenecks have meanwhile intensified, and order book backlogs are growing, making it easier for companies to pass higher costs on to customers.” The stock market is closed Sunday. This note is Friday’s survey. It is not Saturday’s drop of 653 points in the Dow.

The photograph is a worker on a Rivian assembly line, a red bandana and safety glasses, reaching into a vehicle frame. It is the line. It is not Friday’s survey, and it is not this month’s print.

Cost pressures remain a key concern.

Wire and further reading: reuters.com

Filed under Economy

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A trader in a blue jacket points at a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The frame is the floor, not the closing print.

Markets

The Dow fell 653 points.

Reuters and the Associated Press put Friday’s close at 52,215.16, down 1.23 percent. Brent settled at $116.72, the highest since April 29. Thursday’s note was the Nasdaq. This one is Friday.

Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. One man in a blue jacket writes on a tablet while another, in a vest, watches the screens.

Markets

The Nasdaq fell 2.6 percent.

The Associated Press said Thursday’s drop, 694 points to 26,008.86, was the composite’s worst day since June. The S&P 500 fell 1.2 percent. The Dow rose. Meta fell 7 percent, the Times reported.

A Southwest jet, blue with a red and gold tail, flies with the landing gear down against a clear sky.

Airlines

Southwest cut its forecast as fuel stays high.

Adjusted third-quarter profit was 66 cents a share, above the 58 cents analysts expected. The carrier cut its full-year range to $2.60 to $2.85, from $3.25 to $4.25, and sees fourth-quarter fuel at $4.55 a gallon.