Dow falls 650 points to end the week as American Express says it will cut about 5% of jobs

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.80 points, or 1.23%, to 52,215.20 on Friday 23 October, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.52% to 7,623.68 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.21% to 25,955.34, according to Yahoo Finance. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted a second straight weekly loss, while the Dow still ended the week higher.Sources:1Yahoo Finance: Stock market today: Dow sinks 600 points, S&P 500, Nasdaq drop to cap a volatile week, oil prices rise, Yahoo Finance, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)

Yahoo Finance said selling spread beyond AI stocks as Brent crude settled at $116.72 a barrel, a six-month high, on fears of escalation in the Middle East. Airlines including United, Delta and American fell on fuel-cost worries, and the 10-year Treasury yield rose but stayed below 5%.Sources:1Yahoo Finance: Stock market today: Dow sinks 600 points, S&P 500, Nasdaq drop to cap a volatile week, oil prices rise, Yahoo Finance, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)

Dow member American Express fell about 3% after announcing, alongside third-quarter results, that it would cut about 5% of its global workforce and take a $336 million restructuring charge. Banking Dive put the cuts at about 3,500 jobs, while Canadian HR Reporter, citing CNBC, put them at roughly 3,800 based on about 77,000 employees at the end of 2025.Sources:1Yahoo Finance: Stock market today: Dow sinks 600 points, S&P 500, Nasdaq drop to cap a volatile week, oil prices rise, Yahoo Finance, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)2Banking Dive: Amex to cut roughly 3,500 employees, Banking Dive, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)3Canadian HR Reporter: Amex to cut 5 per cent of workforce 'to prepare for AI', Canadian HR Reporter, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)

Chief financial officer Christophe Le Caillec said the aim was to make the company "leaner, more agile, and also to prepare for AI", and chief executive Stephen Squeri said it needed to become "a more agile and efficient organization". Squeri also said more AI agents would be introduced into its commercial-card platform as it competes with Brex and Ramp.Sources:2Banking Dive: Amex to cut roughly 3,500 employees, Banking Dive, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)3Canadian HR Reporter: Amex to cut 5 per cent of workforce 'to prepare for AI', Canadian HR Reporter, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)

The quarter itself was strong: net income rose 28% to $3.71 billion and revenue rose 9% to about $20 billion, according to Banking Dive, and the company raised its full-year earnings-per-share guidance to $18.30 to $18.60. The cuts follow Barclays' plan, announced a day earlier, to cut about 5,000 jobs.Sources:2Banking Dive: Amex to cut roughly 3,500 employees, Banking Dive, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)3Canadian HR Reporter: Amex to cut 5 per cent of workforce 'to prepare for AI', Canadian HR Reporter, 23 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)