Markets

Markets Today: Stocks rebound on Anthropic IPO filing as Bitcoin slips below $80,000 (October 26, 2026)

By ToolPilot Editors · Updated October 26, 2026

Stocks rebounded as Anthropic's IPO filing lifted tech, but Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 ahead of Wednesday's Fed decision.

Wall Street bounced back Monday while crypto stayed on the defensive. The S&P 500 gained 0.70% to 7,676.78, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.82% to 26,169.38, and the Dow added 0.28% to 52,361.58, per Associated Press market data. Bitcoin, meanwhile, slipped back below $80,000 as traders trimmed risk ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision. Stocks as of the 4 p.m. ET close; crypto as of 8:17 p.m. UTC, October 26, 2026. This is not financial advice.

Crypto snapshot

Bitcoin spent the day hovering just under $80,000 after dipping to $79,146 on Saturday — its first move below that level since October 15 — in a weekend flush that liquidated more than $810 million in positions, per The Motley Fool. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs added to the pressure: they lost $635.6 million on October 22 and another $137.9 million on October 23, though the week of October 19–23 still ended with a net inflow of $301.2 million, per Farside Investors data. The total crypto market stood at roughly $2.75 trillion, per Koin Bülteni's daily overview.

Prices via CoinGecko/FMP data recorded October 26 at 8:17 p.m. UTC, per The Motley Fool.

Stock market snapshot

Tech led the rebound after two straight weekly declines for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, per Associated Press reporting. Real estate and technology were the day's favored sectors, while communication services faced selling pressure. Gold rose 0.46% to $4,026.30, and the 10-year Treasury yield held at 5.00%, per The Motley Fool.

Closes via Associated Press market data; the Russell 2000 rose about 0.4% to 2,786.42.

Today's winners and losers

Winners

• Surgery Partners (SGRY) +47.62% — Soared on reports of a majority-stake takeover negotiation, per The Motley Fool.
• Lumentum (LITE) +8.19% — Jumped after a bullish price-target initiation, per The Motley Fool.
• Tesla (TSLA) +5.21% to $391.62 — Surged after Barclays upgraded the stock to “buy” from “hold” and raised its price target to $450 from $370, per The Motley Fool.
• Zcash (ZEC) +0.3% to $1,222.90 — The rare top-10 crypto in the green, up 8.8% over the past week while most majors fell, per The Motley Fool.
• TRON (TRX) +0.4% area — One of the only major tokens higher on the day, per Analytics Insight's CoinGecko-based roundup.

Losers

• Petrobras (PBR) -13.99% — Plunged after election results in Brazil weighed on Brazilian equities, per The Motley Fool.
• MercadoLibre (MELI) ~-10% — Fell as the same Brazilian election results hit South American stocks, per The Motley Fool.
• Meta Platforms (META) -1.88% — Slipped after filing to raise $95 billion for AI infrastructure, per The Motley Fool.
• Ethereum (ETH) -0.6% to $2,313.61 — Led the majors lower alongside XRP (-0.5%) and Solana (-0.9%), per The Motley Fool.

What's driving the moves

• Anthropic filed for an IPO. The AI developer's filing — reportedly showing revenue up more than 1,300% year over year in Q2 and over $16 billion in first-half 2026 revenue — gave AI stocks a lift and helped futures early in the session, per The Motley Fool and Reuters reporting. Lingering worries about the cost of funding data centers and buying chips kept the rally from running away.
• Oil cooled — slightly. Brent crude fell about 1.2% to around $110.31 a barrel on Monday after settling at $116.72 on Friday, its highest since April, per Associated Press reporting. Even after the pullback, crude stayed near the top of its range since the war with Iran began, keeping inflation worries alive.
• The Fed looms large. With the rate decision due Wednesday, the market is pricing only about an 8% probability of a rate hike, but uncertainty around the decision and the press conference is keeping volatility elevated, per The Motley Fool.
• Friday's damage is still fresh. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Dow 1.2% on Friday as oil spiked, so Monday's rebound is a recovery attempt, not yet a confirmed turn — the S&P 500 is still working back toward its earlier-October record, per Associated Press reporting.
• Social chatter is fixated on the $80,000 line. Crypto feeds today centered on Bitcoin breaking below $80,000 and the weekend's $800 million-plus in liquidations, with traders watching whether the level holds or gives way before the Fed speaks.

What investors are watching next

• FOMC decision, Wednesday, October 28 at 2:00 p.m. ET — Rates are widely expected to stay unchanged, with the press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET the main event for guidance on December, per SimianX's economic calendar.
• Big Tech earnings: Microsoft and Alphabet report after the close on Wednesday, and Amazon follows after the close on Thursday — all three are key reads on AI spending, per KuCoin's week-ahead rundown.
• GDP and PCE inflation, Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET — The advance estimate of third-quarter GDP (forecast around 3%) and September PCE inflation arrive the same morning, per Senntric's week-ahead guide.
• Bitcoin's $80,000 test: Traders are watching whether Bitcoin can defend the $80,000 zone; stabilization there could signal improving risk appetite, while further declines would suggest sellers remain in control, per The Motley Fool.
• More catalysts: The European Central Bank decides Thursday, the UK Autumn Budget lands Wednesday, and the U.S. midterms follow on November 3, per DirectorsTalk's week-ahead report.

Bottom line: Monday split the market in two: stocks rebounded on Anthropic's blockbuster IPO filing and cooling oil, while crypto stayed cautious into Fed week, with Bitcoin pinned below $80,000 after a bruising weekend. With the Fed decision, GDP, PCE inflation, and three mega-cap earnings reports all landing by Thursday, this week's calm open is more likely a pause before the real moves than a verdict.