Oil prices increase after attack on Saudi refinery

HONG KONG — Tech stocks have surged this week ahead of the Oct. 28 meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve with markets anticipating no change to the benchmark U.S. interest rate, at least not yet. The Fed is in a bind, however, with higher energy prices from the conflict in the Middle East intensifying inflation. Benchmark U.S. crude rose more than 2% early Oct. 28 after an attack on a major Saudi Arabian refinery by Iran-backed Houthi rebels this week. Brent crude oil, the international standard, is also up almost 2% to $111.38 a barrel. The rapid-growth tech sector is fueled by easy access to credit and hyperscalers like Microsoft and Alphabet will post quarterly earnings reports after the bell. Amazon and Intel release earnings Oct. 29. The tech rally continued before the opening bell Oct. 28 as futures for the Nasdaq, already up 2% this week, rose 0.4%. Futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 144 points, or 0.3%. Alphabet is up almost 2% early and Microsoft is essentially flat. Memory chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 11.4% to its highest level in two weeks after it reported a record-high operating profit of 83.3 trillion won ($62.8 billion) for the last quarter, up nearly sevenfold from a year earlier and beating market estimates. average gasoline and diesel prices stubbornly holding in familiar territory: $4.26/gal for gasoline, $6.35/gal for diesel. prices may slip a few cents but long term relief remains elusive. — Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) October 27, 2026 In other…

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