Stock Futures Rise, Oil Slips to $102 as Houthi Claims on Saudi Refinery Go Unconfirmed

Direct answer: Stock futures rose on Sunday evening, October 25, 2026, and U.S. oil slipped about 1% to around $102 a barrel at the reopen, after Yemen's Houthis claimed they had hit Saudi Arabia's Rabigh refinery and East-West pipeline — claims for which no damage to any Saudi oil site has been confirmed.

It was the first market verdict on a weekend of alarming headlines. Instead of the panic spike many traders braced for, the opening prints said something calmer: claimed hits are not lost barrels, and until a hit is confirmed, the market is pricing a risk premium — not an outage.

What Happened on Saturday

The Houthis said on Saturday, October 24, that they had attacked eight Saudi targets. The list named by their military spokesman Yahya Saree included King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery, crude oil pumping stations, the East-West Pipeline, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, an airport in Najran and an air base at Khamis Mushait, according to reporting cited by France 24 and Reuters.

The group also renewed its warning to airlines and travellers to avoid Riyadh's airport, which it called a military target.

What Is Confirmed — and What Is Not

Confirmed: Saudi authorities confirmed intercepting ballistic missiles. The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed two ballistic missiles fired towards Yanbu and Taif, and Saudi Civil Defense issued brief alerts for Taif, Yanbu, Mecca and Jeddah before saying the threat had passed. Fragments of intercepted missiles fell in Jeddah, Taif and Rabigh and in the Mecca region, according to Saudi Civil Defense.

Not confirmed: Any damage to the Rabigh refinery, the East-West Pipeline, or any other Saudi oil site. Saudi authorities did not comment directly on the Houthi claims, and independent reporting through Sunday stressed the same point: these are claims, and damage has not been confirmed.

What Markets Did at the Sunday Reopen

Just after 6 p.m. on Sunday in New York, S&P 500 futures were up 0.4%, Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.6%, and Dow futures were up 0.3%, or 165 points, Barron's reported. Traders Union, citing CNBC, reported the same moves: S&P 500 futures up 0.4%, Dow futures up about 154 points, and Nasdaq-100 futures up 0.6%.

Oil moved the other way. WTI futures were down 1% on Sunday, to around $102 a barrel, Barron's reported. That followed Friday's surge, when Brent crude settled at $116.72 a barrel — up 3.1% on the day, up 6.4% on the week, and its highest settle since April 29 — while WTI settled at $103.27, up 3.8%.

Why the Named Targets Matter

The East-West Pipeline carries crude about 1,200 kilometres from Saudi Arabia's eastern oil fields to Yanbu on the Red Sea. It is the kingdom's route for exporting oil without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which is why a confirmed hit on it — or on its pumping stations — would matter far more than another airport attack. Rabigh, on the same Red Sea coast north of Jeddah, is one of the kingdom's large refining and petrochemical complexes.

That is also why the absence of confirmation is the most important fact of the weekend. In September 2019, a confirmed strike on Abqaiq knocked out about 5.7 million barrels a day and Brent jumped sharply at the reopen. This weekend, by Sunday evening, nothing comparable had been confirmed — and the opening oil price reflected that difference.

Why It Is Blowing Up

Oil went into the weekend already expensive. Brent's Friday settle at $116.72 was its highest since April, energy was the standout sector on Friday, and the national average price for regular gasoline in the U.S. was $4.289 a gallon on Sunday, according to AAA via Barron's. With prices that high, any claim of a hit on Saudi refining or pipeline infrastructure travels instantly — and so does the relief when the reopen does not confirm it.

What Is Next

Two tests come quickly. First, any confirmed word — from Saudi authorities or Aramco — on whether Rabigh, Yanbu or the pipeline sustained damage. Second, a packed U.S. calendar: the Federal Reserve decides on interest rates on Wednesday afternoon, with the market putting the probability of a pause at more than 90%, according to CME FedWatch via Barron's, keeping rates at 3.75% to 4.00%. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the September PCE price index, follows a day after the decision, and Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon all report earnings this week. Last week the Dow closed at 52,215.16, up 0.41%, while the S&P 500 ended at 7,623.68, down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite ended at 25,955.34, down 0.7%.

This post reports what happened and how markets reacted. It is not financial advice, and it does not recommend buying, selling or holding any asset.

FAQ

Did the Houthis hit the Rabigh refinery or the East-West pipeline?
That is unconfirmed. The Houthis claimed both targets on Saturday, October 24, but Saudi authorities confirmed only missile interceptions, and no damage to any oil site had been confirmed by Sunday evening.

How did oil react when markets reopened on Sunday?
WTI futures fell about 1% to around $102 a barrel, Barron's reported — a slip, not a spike — after Brent had settled Friday at $116.72, its highest since April 29.

How did stock futures react on Sunday evening?
They rose just after 6 p.m. in New York: S&P 500 futures up 0.4%, Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.6%, and Dow futures up 0.3%.

What else will move markets this week?
The Federal Reserve's Wednesday decision (a hold at 3.75% to 4.00% is expected with more than 90% probability), Thursday's September PCE inflation reading, and earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon.