The record-setting government shutdown is finally over, but stocks are under pressure. The Daily Breakdown checks out the action — and ORCL.
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What’s Happening?
It’s still early in the pre-market trading session, but stocks hardly seem to notice that the record-long government shutdown has finally come to an end. Government employees will finally be paid and airports should go back to normal — and hopefully fast!
But it has some investors wondering why stocks — the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) are both down slightly this morning — aren’t enjoying a bigger rally as a result of this news. Remember, in markets it is often about what’s going to happen rather than what just happened.
And the market already felt that this solution was coming. That’s as the S&P 500 had rallied in each session so far this week and is now back within 1% of its all-time high. That’s not to say we can’t see further gains this week, but it’s important to remember that markets — and not just stock markets — tend to be forward-looking. Now we can get back to focusing on the fundamentals.
Crypto Bump
So far, Bitcoin continues to hold the psychologically key $100K area, and now we’re seeing a further boost not only to BTC, but also Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, Cardano, and others.
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The Setup — Oracle
Oracle has been a leading stock so far this year, with the company garnering the coveted $1 trillion market cap reading a few months ago. ORCL was up more than 100% at its 2025 high, although a big dip has eaten into those gains, with shares now up “just” 36% so far this year.
Amid the pullback, investors are wondering when Oracle will find support. Will it be near $220, which were the lows in September before ORCL shot to record highs? Or will the stock need to retreat further, potentially toward the 200-day moving average, before finding support? Will it be even lower than that? These are questions that technical investors are asking about ORCL.
Options
On a dip, buying calls or call spreads may be one way to take advantage of a pullback. For call buyers, it may be advantageous to have adequate time until the option’s expiration. For those that aren’t feeling so bullish or who are looking for a deeper pullback, puts or put spreads could be one way to take advantage.
To learn more about options, consider visiting the eToro Academy.
What Wall Street’s Watching
Shares of Disney are lower in pre-market trading, down about 3%. That’s as the company beat on earnings estimates ($1.11 per share vs. estimates of $1.03 per share) but missed on revenue expectations ($22.5 billion vs. estimates of $22.8 billion). The company reported 196 million users for its Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, and expects double-digit adjusted earnings growth in fiscal 2026 and 2027. Dig into the fundamentals for DIS.
Cisco Systems is quietly having a very strong year, with shares up about 21% this year and up another 7% in pre-market trading after beating on earnings and revenue expectations. Management’s outlook for next quarter and the fiscal year were ahead of analysts’ expectations, too. Check out the chart for CSCO.
Disclaimer:
Please note that due to market volatility, some of the prices may have already been reached and scenarios played out.