Companies with more cash than debt are holding up better as inflation hits 3.7%, the 10-year Treasury yields about 5.1%, and US oil tops $100 a barrel. An analysis of five industry pairs found the stronger company sat closer to its 52-week high in every case. In four, debt made the difference. Microsoft, with $20 billion of net cash, is 1.8% below its high. CoreWeave, with $46 billion of net debt, is 56.3% below. Exxon is 0.4% below its high, against 35.6% for American Airlines. Nucor trails its high by 4.9%, while Celanese trails by 30.8%. Alphabet is down 14.4%, while Charter, with $96 billion of net debt, is down 57.0%. Costco and Nike are the exception: Nike's gap stems from falling sales, not debt.

US diesel prices averaged $6.199 a gallon for the week of October 5, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. That is down from a 2026 peak of $6.529 in late September but more than $2.50 above a year ago. A disruption to Strait of Hormuz shipping earlier this year cut global refined fuel exports. Refiners gain most. Marathon Petroleum's refining margin doubled to $36.33 a barrel in the second quarter, from $17.58 a year earlier. Integrated majors also benefit. Chevron's downstream earnings rose to $4.9 billion from $737 million, while ExxonMobil's refining and fuels earnings reached $4.1 billion, nearly double a year earlier. Pipeline firms Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners earn mostly fees, so they get little direct lift. The EIA expects prices to stay high through October before easing.

Exxon Mobil shares rose 2% to about $178.04 on Friday after the company said stronger refining margins could add about $4.5 billion to third-quarter results, compared with the prior quarter. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Exxon estimated a net $4.4 billion boost from better product margins. That was partly offset by a $1.3 billion hit from lower oil and liquids prices. The company said it saw no volume losses tied to Middle East events. Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta said the filing implied earnings per share near $4.10. That is above the FactSet consensus of about $3.87, but below Goldman's own estimate of $4.33. Exxon will report full results on October 30. The stock has gained 48% this year.