Update: US Equity Indexes Rise as SpaceX's Blockbuster Results Boost Risk Sentiment

12:53 PM EDT, 10/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves and company news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes rose as a rally in Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) and Super Micro Computer's (SMCI) shares boosted risk sentiment in technology. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.2% to 26,739.1, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 7,757.9, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.4% to 52,681.9 after midday Wednesday. Seven of the top 10 stocks in a category with market capitalization exceeding $200 billion were from the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. SpaceX topped this list of mega-caps, gaining 9.8%. SpaceX, which also led Nasdaq's gainers, said late Tuesday it swung into the black in Q3 as revenue rose, driven by strong gains in its artificial intelligence and connectivity divisions. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, who heads both SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA), said the duo has formed special committees to evaluate a potential merger. Super Micro Computer's (SMCI) shares surged 9% after the company reported preliminary fiscal Q1 revenue and margin results above expectations late Tuesday. In energy market news, US commercial crude oil stocks, excluding inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 16, after an 8.6-million-barrel decrease in the previous week, versus the 340,000-barrel decline expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract edged down 0.6% to $97.22 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent added 0.1% to $108.89 per barrel.