The coming week will focus on oil prices, US corporate earnings and key inflation data. Crude oil has surged amid supply disruptions in the Middle East and Russia, with traders watching whether prices can hold above $100 a barrel. Meanwhile, Meta and Tesla headline a busy US earnings calendar, while inflation reports from Canada, the UK and Japan could influence expectations for monetary policy.
The Week Ahead: Oil, Meta and Tesla earnings
CMC Markets
Table of contents
- 1.WTI spikes to $100
- 2.Meta Q3 earnings
- 3.Tesla Q3 earnings
- 4.Economic & company events calendar
WTI spikes to $100
West Texas Intermediate crude has staged a strong recovery over the past two weeks. After bottoming near $89 in early October, the contract climbed steadily and pushed above $101 on Friday. The chart shows a clear upward trend from those lows, with price currently consolidating around the $100 area after a modest pullback. Brent, the international benchmark, has been trading near $110.
The recent strength is driven by persistent supply risks. Attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have kept Gulf crude flows well below normal levels. A missile aimed at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu export terminal was intercepted on Friday, while a Ukrainian drone strike disrupted a major Russian refinery. These events added to an already tight market that also saw a large draw in US crude inventories linked to earlier hurricane related production shut-ins.
Looking ahead this week, traders will focus on any further developments in the Middle East and Russia Ukraine energy infrastructure attacks. The next US inventory report will also be closely watched for signs of continued tightness. On the chart, the $100 level is acting as near term support. A clean break below it could open a move back toward the mid $90s. On the upside, a sustained push through the recent highs near $101 to $102 would keep the path open toward higher levels.
Source: TradingView
Meta Q3 earnings
Wednesday 21 October
Meta is expected to report third-quarter 2026 earnings of $6.11 a share, down 15.7% year-on-year. Revenue is forecast to grow 23.5% to $63.3bn, while capital expenditure is projected to more than double to $39.7bn, compared with $18.8bn year earlier.
For the fourth quarter, analysts expect earnings to fall 6.7% to $8.28 a share, even as revenue is forecast to rise 23% to $73.7bn. Capital expenditure is forecast to reach $49.1bn, more than double the $21.4bn recorded a year earlier. The stock is expected to move 6.2% post-earnings.
Options positioning in Meta is very bullish, suggesting that once the company reports and implied volatility resets, market makers’ hedging flows could put selling pressure on the stock. The options market also indicates support around $700 a share and strong resistance around $750.
Meta stock broke down hard on Friday, closing at $709.33 after trading as low as $702.71. The chart shows clear resistance near the recent high around $780 (September peak). While the stock had previously found some buying interest in the $715 to $720 area, that zone offered almost no support on the way down. Price sliced straight through it with little hesitation. The clean break increases the odds of a deeper retest of major support near $680. On the upside, the stock would need to reclaim and hold above the $750 area to neutralise the recent breakdown and reopen a path back toward the $780 highs.
Meta share price, April 2025 – present
Source: TradingView
Tesla Q3 earnings
Wednesday 21 October
Tesla is expected to report a third-quarter earnings decline of about 15% to $0.43 a share versus a year earlier, while revenue is forecast to fall 0.8% year-on-year to $27.9bn. Capital expenditure could more than triple to $7.5bn, up from $2.3bn a year prior.
Tesla does not provide traditional quarterly guidance. However, analysts expect fourth-quarter earnings to decline by about 7.8% to $0.46 a share, with revenue forecast to rise 14.4% to $28.5bn. Capital expenditure is expected to reach $9bn, up from $2.4bn a year earlier.
The options market is pricing in a post-earnings move of around 6.3%. Positioning is strongly bullish, suggesting that once the electric vehicle maker reports results and implied volatility falls, the unwinding of options positions and market makers’ hedges could put selling pressure on the shares. Option positioning suggests resistance around $385 and support near $350.
Tesla stock has pulled back sharply from its recent highs near $388. The chart shows clear resistance around the $388 area, where price has been rejected twice in the past few weeks. After failing to hold the mid 370s, the stock broke lower and is now trading around $355. The recent low near 348 to 350 is acting as short term support. A decisive break below that zone would open the door for a deeper move toward the mid 340s. On the upside, the stock would need to reclaim and hold above the 370 area to ease the recent downside pressure and reopen a path back toward the higher 380s.
Tesla share price, October 2025 – present
Source: TradingView
Economic & company events calendar
Major scheduled data releases, plus selected UK, US and other listed company results:
Monday 19 October
Canada: Bank of Canada consumer price index, Business Outlook Survey (September)
China: Gross domestic product (Q3), industrial production (September), retail sales (September)
Results: AGNC Investment (Q3), Beeks Financial Cloud (FY), City of London Investment Group (Q1), Crown Holdings (Q3), Fifth Third (Q3), ITM Power (FY), Steel Dynamics (Q3), Tristel (FY), WR Berkley (Q3)
Tuesday 20 October
China: People’s Bank of China interest-rate decision (October)
Eurozone: ZEW economic sentiment survey (October)
UK: Average earnings, unemployment rate (August)
US: ADP employment change (4-week average), building permits, housing starts, pending home sales (September)
Results: BP Marsh & Partners (HY), Bunzl (Q3), Capital One (Q3), GE Aerospace (Q3), Intuitive Surgical (Q3), Netflix (Q3), RTX (Q3), Sabre Insurance (Q3), Trifast (HY), Wickes (Q3)
Wednesday 21 October
Japan: Trade balance (September)
UK: CPI, PPI and retail price index (September)
Results: Aberdeen (Q3), Domino’s (Q3), Lam Research (Q1), Meta Platforms (Q3), PensionBee (Q3), Philip Morris (Q3), Quilter (Q3), SEGRO (Q3), Tesla (Q3), Texas Instruments (Q3)
Thursday 22 October
Australia: S&P Global manufacturing & services purchasing managers’ indices (October)
New Zealand: CPI (Q3)
Eurozone: Consumer confidence (October)
US: Initial jobless claims (weekly)
Results: Barclays (Q3), Blackstone (Q3), Honeywell (Q3), InterContinental Hotels (Q3), Lockheed Martin (Q3), LSEG (Q3), Newmont (Q3), RELX (Q3), Rentokil (Q3), Union Pacific (Q3)
Friday 23 October
Canada: Retail sales (August)
Eurozone: HCOB manufacturing, services PMIs (October)
Japan: CPI (September)
UK: GfK consumer confidence (October), retail sales (September), S&P Global manufacturing, services PMIs (October)
US: S&P Global composite, manufacturing & services PMIs (October), University of Michigan consumer sentiment (October)
Results: American Express (Q3), Balchem (Q3), Booz Allen (Q2), First Citizens (Q3), SLB (Q3), Taylor Maritime (HY)
Note: Announcements and dates are subject to change. Cross-check times in your timezone using the platform market calendar.
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