Nuclear, Uranium & Photonics Daily
Edition 013 · Tuesday, October 13, 2026 · Post-close
SEQH Capital Research
The Tape in 60 Seconds
Optics fell hard at the open and buyers stepped in. The nuclear developers and UEC got no such support. The five-name nuclear basket fell another −2.37% and the same four names made new 52-week lows for a second day. Optics closed only −0.75% after recovering about 5% from its lows.
For the third straight session the S&P was flat (−0.02%). The selling started overnight in Korea. The KOSPI fell more than 5% and Samsung and SK Hynix fell about 8% each, after Chinese memory maker CXMT announced a more efficient memory-cell design. That followed Broadcom CEO Hock Tan’s Monday remark that AI investing resembles “a casino.” Optics opened 2–4% lower across the group. CRDO and COHR traded to −7.8% and −4.9% intraday. By the close the group had recovered: GLW +0.86% and COHR +0.68% closed at or near their highs, and the six names finished down only −0.75% on average.
Nuclear behaved differently. UEC opened flat at $8.80, sold off all session, and closed −6.68% on 14.8M shares, about 1.5× its average, with no company news. SMR’s high for the day ($6.61) was exactly Monday’s low, so it never traded back into Monday’s range. OKLO and LEU each set new lows before recovering slightly. CEG (+0.65%) and CCJ (+0.03%) were the only tracked nuclear names that finished up.
Three takeaways
The two halves of the AI-infrastructure trade split today. Optics fell at the open and was bought back. The nuclear developers and UEC weren’t. Optics did −0.75% and the nuclear basket did −2.37%. On Monday, optics had been the weaker group.
The quality ranking held for a fifth session, and the spread widened. Share of Tuesday 10/6’s gain each stock still keeps: CEG ~86%, BWXT ~34%, CCJ ~−24%, LEU ~−58%, UEC ~−146%, OKLO ~−162%, SMR ~−350%. The gap between CEG and SMR widened from about 368 points to about 436 points in one session.
Within uranium, the large producer held and the smaller one broke. CCJ closed flat while UEC fell 6.7%. Measured against Tuesday’s gain, CCJ is at about −24% and UEC is at about −146%.
Key numbers
Five-name nuclear basket: −2.37%. S&P −0.02%. Gap −235bp. Two-session total −6.86%
Optics, six names: −0.75%, after an average recovery of ~4.9% from intraday lows
New 52-week lows, second straight day: UEC $8.19 · LEU $131.17 · OKLO $31.02 · SMR $6.41
UEC volume 14.8M, about 1.5× average and 2.2× Monday
10-yr 5.22% (−2bp), the first trading session since Friday
CPI comes out tomorrow at 8:30 ET
01 · Macro Tape
IndexCloseChg%Dow51,670.10−180.45−0.35%S&P 5007,805.45−1.79−0.02%Nasdaq Comp.27,204.38−41.52−0.15%Russell 20002,783.37−11.11−0.40%
S&P: range 7,786.11–7,814.15. The last three closes were 7,811.54, 7,807.24 and 7,805.45, a total move of 6 points.
Rates: the 10-yr finished at 5.22% (−2bp), with a range of 5.18–5.24%. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned that another percentage-point rise in rates could be painful for borrowers.
Banks:
JPM earned $15.3B, or $5.57/share, against $5.90 expected ($5.75 excluding $658M of securities losses). Revenue was $50.2B, up 8%.
GS profit rose about 29% y/y, helped by a 72% jump in equities trading revenue.
Midday reports had GS higher, JPM roughly flat and WFC lower.
BAC and MS report tomorrow.
Memory and Asia: KOSPI fell more than 5%. Samsung and SK Hynix fell about 8% each in local trading, extending five-session losing streaks. The trigger was CXMT’s memory-cell design announcement.
Other: VIX ~15.5, gold ~$4,173, WTI Nov ~$94.17 (early-afternoon snapshots, not closes). NFIB small-business optimism fell 0.8 to 97.9.
02 · Uranium & Fuel Cycle
TickerClose%RangeVolumeUEC$8.24−6.68%8.19–8.8114.83MLEU$134.28−0.76%131.17–134.82572KCCJ$86.15+0.03%85.22–87.092.37M
UEC set a new 52-week low of $8.19 and closed 5 cents above it.
It opened at $8.80, within 1 cent of the day’s high, and fell almost the whole session.
Volume was the heaviest since Tuesday 10/6 (16.2M). We found no company release.
It is −18.5% since 10/6 and −10.3% in two sessions. Market cap is now about $4.08B.
LEU set a new 52-week low of $131.17, then closed $3.11 above it, near the high of the day.
It is 32.7% below the $199.64 offering price.
Volume was the lightest of the week.
CCJ closed flat. Its low of $85.22 was its lowest trade since 10/2. It is still 1.5% below its 10/5 pre-spike close of $87.47, but held while UEC broke.
SPUT: no new data. The TSX was closed Monday 10/12 for Canadian Thanksgiving, so Sprott’s latest posted figures are still Friday 10/9:
NAV $21.54. Price $19.04. Discount −11.62%.
Implied spot about $89.72/lb. At the market price, the vehicle values U3O8 at about $80.20/lb.
Uranium held: 81,697,348 lb, worth $7.33B.
Today’s print, the first since Friday, should post this evening. It is the first real read on whether the 166bp narrowing held while UEC fell 10% over two sessions.
03 · Reactors, Utilities & Power
TickerClose%RangeVolumeSMR$6.49−3.13%6.41–6.6129.5MOKLO$31.78−1.33%31.02–32.008.87MBWXT$138.86−0.76%136.45–139.79690KCEG$295.79+0.65%286.13–298.502.29M
SMR set a new 52-week low of $6.41.
Its high for the day ($6.61) was exactly Monday’s low, so it never traded back into Monday’s range.
It is −19.1% since 10/6, the weakest name we track.
Volume is fading: 44.5M (10/6), 41.1M (10/12), 29.5M today.
OKLO set a new 52-week low of $31.02. It closed 76 cents above that, with volume below average.
It is −17.6% since 10/6.
In company news, Oklo said it will advance its “Groves 2 Forge” isotope-production facility through the DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative.
BWXT traded as low as $136.45, just $1.10 above its 10/5 close. It closed at $138.86 and still holds about 34%of Tuesday’s gain.
CEG recovered from a $286.13 low to close at $295.79, about 9.7 points off the low and up 0.65%. It is the only tracked name within 2% of its 10/6 close (−1.5%).
04 · Photonics & Optical Interconnect
TickerClose%Open vs prior closeOff the lowSince Tue 10/6GLW$148.54+0.86%−2.78%+5.09%−12.09%COHR$289.98+0.68%−3.51%+5.86%−14.30%LITE$987.99−0.75%−2.37%+3.78%−12.83%CIEN$400.40−1.14%−2.88%+4.92%−9.75%CRDO$198.31−1.26%−4.42%+7.08%−10.20%AAOI$97.78−2.88%−3.22%+2.84%−24.88%
The pattern: every name opened lower and every name closed well above its low. The average recovery from intraday lows was ~4.9%. GLW closed within 19 cents of its high and COHR within 55 cents.
CRDO had the biggest intraday swing. It fell to $185.20 (−7.8%) and closed at $198.31, on 11.0M shares, the heaviest volume in at least six sessions.
LITE traded as low as $952.01 and closed at $987.99, its second straight close below $1,000. It is 13.6% below Friday’s $1,143.00 intraday record.
AAOI was the weakest name again. It closed below $100 for the first time since 9/30 ($99.26), and its $97.78 close was the lowest since 9/28 ($96.82). It is −24.9% since 10/6, the worst decline of anything we track.
Since 10/6: the six optics names are down −14.01% on average, and the five-name nuclear basket is down −13.44%. Over the week the two legs are almost identical, even though they split sharply today.
06 · Desk Read
i. The same macro shock hit both groups, and only optics was bought back. The Korea memory selloff knocked every optics name down 2–4% at the open, and every one recovered 3–7% from its low. In nuclear, UEC opened flat and fell all day, and SMR never got back into Monday’s range. The selling in nuclear didn’t come from the open or from a headline, and it didn’t let up. That points to positions being sold steadily, and it is happening in the names with the weakest balance sheets.
ii. The ranking still holds, and the spread is widening. For five sessions the same order has held: CEG and BWXT at the top, then CCJ, then LEU and UEC, with OKLO and SMR at the bottom. On Monday the gap between CEG and SMR on that measure was 368 points. Today it is 436. Today the market treated nuclear names on revenue and balance sheet, not as one theme. CEG and CCJ closed up while SMR and UEC set new lows. We would revisit this read if OKLO or SMR got back to their 10/5 closes ($35.97 / $7.68), or if CEG lost the top spot on a weak day. We are not close to either.
iii. Tomorrow brings three tests at once. First, CPI at 8:30 ET, with the 10-yr at 5.22% and Dimon talking about another percentage-point rise. Second, SPUT’s first NAV and discount since Friday: it shows whether the physical vehicle is holding up or following the equities lower. Third, the new lows: UEC $8.19, OKLO $31.02, SMR $6.41 and LEU $131.17. All four have now set lows on consecutive days.
Corrections
BWXT 10/12 close: $139.92 (−2.72%), not $139.85 (−2.77%). The nuclear basket for 10/12 was therefore −4.60%, not −4.61%. BWXT’s retention on 10/12 was ~44%, not ~43%. The ranking order is unchanged.
SPUT: Edition 012 said Monday’s SPUT print would arrive “tomorrow.” There was no Monday print because the TSX was closed for Canadian Thanksgiving.
GLW 10/12 range: confirmed at $145.76–$155.01. This replaces the provisional range flagged in Edition 012.
Method
All prices are official closes unless marked otherwise. The nuclear basket is an equal-weight average of the daily % changes in CCJ, UEC, OKLO, SMR and BWXT. LEU and CEG are tracked but excluded from the basket. The optics average is an equal-weight average of LITE, COHR, AAOI, CRDO, CIEN and GLW. Retention = (current close − 10/5 close) ÷ (10/6 close − 10/5 close). “Off the low” = close ÷ intraday low − 1. SPUT implied spot = market value of U3O8 ÷ pounds held. SPUT $/lb at market = unit price ÷ 0.2374 lb per unit. Intraday snapshots are marked as such. SEQH does not publish ratings or price targets, and this newsletter does not reproduce third-party ratings or targets.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. SEQH Capital Research does not issue ratings or price targets. Data is drawn from public sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Do your own research.
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