Stock Market Summary – October 17, 2025

Following concerns with the Zions and Western Alliance banks due to “apparent misrepresentations” from borrowers, there was a sudden decline in regional banks shares, leading to comparisons to the 2023 banking crisis. These concerns arose due to lending made to non-depository financial institutions (NDFIs) of which investor interest is now focused. This led to a $170 million loss declared by JPMorgan who had lost assets due to the collapse of two auto-related companies.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may consider canceling over $11 billion in projects due to the government shutdown, according to Trump administration budget chief Russell Vought. The contemporary freeze is currently on “lower-priority projects” in cities like New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore. The Trump administration has also previously frozen about $18 billion of funds for major infrastructure projects and is currently freezing another $2.1 billion for the Chicago transit system.

Today’s biggest market movers include AppFolio, AST SpaceMobile, Revolution Medicines, Core Scientific, and State Street among others. AppFolio saw a climb of 7%, while AST SpaceMobile experienced a drop of 6%. Oracle’s stocks fell by 7% and Bank OZK slipped 3%. Stocks that made gains include Jefferies (4.2% jump), CSX (3% gain), American Express (6% rise), Truist Financial (3.5% rise), and Fifth Third Bancorp (1% gain).

Recently indicted former national security advisor, John Bolton, pleaded not guilty to charges of mishandling classified information. John Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James have also faced criminal charges recently. Investors have also been advised to consider a 60/20/20 portfolio strategy where 60% remains in stocks, 20% is carved out in alternatives like gold and bitcoin, and the rest put in fixed income.

Pharmaceutical stocks Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk lost between 3% and 4% after President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of obesity drug costs being “much lower”. In contrast to this, American Express shares rose by 6% after beating expectations for the third quarter and increasing its full-year guidance.

Different analysts are noting that investors are beginning to change market exposure where gold is becoming a core holding in portfolios. Gold’s prices have reportedly soared by over 60% since the start of the year due to increased central bank demand, de-dollarization, and increased geopolitical tensions. It has also been noted that electricity companies in the U.S. are struggling to estimate demand resulting from the artificial intelligence boom.

Uncertainty looms around whether the current macroeconomic backdrop is favorable to banks in the wake of recent large scale bankruptcies. Chips and industrial firms such as Nvidia and Caterpillar are also beginning to see big runs due to the data center buildout from large AI companies. Several European private markets firms also sold off out of concern over lending standards in U.S. markets. The main concern is over risky lending practices that could potentially lead to a more widespread issue in the broader banking sector. This has led to a global alert for systemic credit risks.