Markets, 5 November 2026
Oil drops nearly 10% in a day, Dubai stocks jump 4%, gold back above $4,000
What moved
- Oil falls hard. Brent closed Wednesday at about $94.60, down about 9.4% from Tuesday’s $104.40, and it’s around $93.60 this morning, down another 1.1%. WTI closed at about $88.00, down about 9%, and is around $86.80 now. Brent is down about 16% on the week and about 7% on the month.
- Dubai jumps. The DFM closed Wednesday at about 6,041, up about 4% in one session and about 3% on the week. The ADX was flat at 9,461 and is still down about 5% on the month.
- Gold back above $4,000. It closed Wednesday at about $4,072, up about 3.4%, and is around $4,153 an ounce this morning, up another 2%. That’s about 3% up on the week.
- Copper steadies. COMEX copper is around $14,196 a tonne, up about 0.4% on Wednesday’s close of about $14,134. It’s still down about 2% on the week and 3% on the month. Aluminium is around $3,206, up about 0.4%. Zinc still hasn’t updated since 23 October ($3,944), so it’s stale.
- Steel eases a little. US Midwest HRC is around $1,528 a tonne, down about 1.2% today, but still up about 7% on the month. Shanghai rebar is 3,037 yuan a tonne, up about 0.7%.
- Stocks, rates and the dollar. The S&P 500 closed Wednesday at about 7,689, up about 1.6%, and the Nasdaq at about 25,737, up about 1.5%. Emerging markets (EEM) closed at 61.62, up about 0.8%. The latest Treasury yields are from 3 November: the 2-year at 4.61%, up 2 basis points, and the 10-year at 4.95%, up 4. The dollar index is around 101.2, down about 0.3%. The monthly US PPIs for copper wire and cable, steel wire drawing and cement are still the September figures.
The truth: Oil is the story today. Brent losing almost a tenth of its price in one session, and about 16% in a week, is a big move, and I don’t know yet if it sticks. In the short run it means cheaper freight, fuel and energy, which helps anyone moving drums of cable or steel. But at the Gulf level, oil under $95 is a lot less comfortable than $113 was a week ago, and if it stays there, that’s the number to watch for government and project budgets next year. Dubai’s market jumping 4% on the same day says local investors aren’t worried yet, and I’d take that as a decent sign for the construction pipeline, not a promise. Copper has stopped falling for now, so the cushion on conductor costs is still there but not growing. Steel eased a touch but is still up about 7% on the month, so keep steel-heavy quotes short and keep escalation clauses in. Gold’s jump tells you someone’s nervous. Not investment advice.
Sources and as-of dates for every number are on the Markets board.