9 Oct 2026

SpaceX bought spectrum, and the carriers had their worst day in decades

SpaceX agreed to buy up to 14 MHz of 800 MHz spectrum for Starlink Mobile, and the big US carriers sank, Verizon 10.1% and AT&T 10.8%. The rest of the market recovered from Thursday's AI selloff, the S&P up 0.59% to finish the week 1.15% higher, just short of its record. Bank earnings start on Tuesday.

S&P 500: +0.59%
S&P, week: +1.15%
Verizon: −10.1%
AT&T: −10.8%

SpaceX moved on the carriers

VZ −10.1% · T −10.8%

After Thursday's close SpaceX agreed to buy up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band from Grain Management, pending FCC approval, and pitched it as a step toward Starlink Mobile becoming a major US carrier. Verizon fell 10.14% to $41.65, which CNBC called its worst day since 2002, and AT&T 10.82% to $22.18. AST SpaceMobile, the satellite-to-phone rival, lost 10.48%. Evercore called the deal a coverage fix rather than a capacity one, and FCC chair Brendan Carr called the competition "really good news" for consumers.

The rest of the market bounced

S&P +0.59% · Dow +0.83%

Stocks recovered from Thursday's OpenAI-led selloff. The S&P rose 0.59% to 7,811.54, just under Tuesday's record, the Dow 0.83% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.64%. Chips lagged, the chip ETF down 0.65%.

Yields edged back up

2-yr 4.80% · 10-yr 5.24%

The two-year rose 5bp to 4.80% and the ten-year 2bp to 5.24%, with the thirty-year flat at 5.60%.

The week, done

S&P +1.15% on the week

The S&P finished the week up 1.15%, through two records, the OpenAI scare and today's carrier selloff. The Dow rose 0.93% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.64%. Bonds had a better week than the last few: the two-year fell 3bp, the ten-year 4bp and the thirty-year 3bp.