Oil Tumbles 4% as Iran Talks Revive and a Jam-Packed Week Kicks Off

Oil bulls woke up to a rough one. Brent and WTI crude both slid more than 4% in early trading as negotiators renewed a push to dial down tensions with Iran, according to Reuters. A draft proposal is making the rounds after another round of talks in Doha on Sunday.

The diplomatic track got a fresh nudge from Washington. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters over the weekend that President Donald Trump would rather settle the war "diplomatically," while making clear the military option stays on the table. "If we needed to do something militarily, we would have the ability to do it," he said, adding the preference is to do it peacefully.

That's a lot of geopolitical risk getting repriced in a hurry, and it lands in the middle of a week that was already crowded. Equity futures are pointing higher to open November, following the Nasdaq 100's worst month in a year. Chip stocks are doing the heavy lifting after a strong Asian handover, with shares of SK Hynix and Samsung climbing sharply overnight.

Apple headlines the Magnificent Seven earnings slate, and it arrives as the group's best performer so far, up 28% year-to-date. Expectations are towering. CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos will report from Cupertino as CEO John Ternus hosts his first earnings call in the top job.

The calendar isn't letting up. Voters head to the polls for the midterms, Friday brings the payrolls data day, and more of the Magnificent Seven step up to report.

Money is also flooding into the midterm fight. So-called pop-up super PACs have poured $637 million into 2026 races, per CNBC. One example: Our Heritage Matters registered with the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 15, started spending to boost third-party candidates and hit Republicans five days later, and by Oct. 29 had dropped about $1.2 million across 10 House and Senate races, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings. Voters still can't see who's footing the bill.