Broad Market Close and Geopolitical Backdrop

The major US benchmarks finished a mixed-to-slightly-red session on Thursday, September 24, 2026. The S&P 500 slipped a marginal 0.02%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.31% to print a one-week low, and the Nasdaq 100 edged up 0.03%. In the futures market, December E-mini S&P 500 contracts (ESZ26) were off 0.10% and December E-mini Nasdaq contracts (NQZ26) lost 0.03%.

The session's dominant theme was the sharp rise in crude oil prices, which stoked inflation fears and dragged global sovereign debt yields higher. November WTI crude (CLX26) jumped more than 2% after a senior member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to extend the conflict into the Indian Ocean should the United States or Israel launch further strikes. Tensions escalated further when Saudi Arabia reported intercepting missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels toward the Red Sea port of Yanbu and the city of Taif.

Oil's intraday surge was partially unwound, however, after a Reuters report indicated that US and Iranian negotiators are discussing a phased agreement under which Tehran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Washington lifting its blockade of Iranian ports. Qatari officials are reportedly mediating the talks. The reversal in crude triggered a burst of short covering in equities, cushioning some of the day's losses.

Bond Markets, Fed Signals, and Economic Data

The crude oil spike translated directly into a bond sell-off across major markets. The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to a 19-year high of 5.22% intraday before settling at 5.177%, up 6.3 basis points on the day. Germany's 10-year Bund yield touched a 17-year peak of 3.62% and closed up 4.4 basis points at 3.599%. Japan's 10-year JGB yield hit a 30-year high of 3.09%. The UK 10-year gilt rose to a one-week high of 5.393% and finished up 3.4 basis points at 5.381%.

Two Federal Reserve officials reinforced a hawkish tone on Thursday. New York Fed President John Williams cautioned that the central bank still has considerable work ahead, citing persistently high energy costs and demand underpinned by artificial-intelligence investment. Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson described underlying inflation as "stubbornly elevated" with little evidence of progress, adding that "some modest further tightening of monetary policy may be warranted" to anchor prices at the 2% target. Market participants are now pricing in a 71% probability of a 25-basis-point hike at the October 27-28 FOMC meeting.

US economic data released Thursday painted a picture of a resilient economy. Weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly dropped 1,000 to 197,000, a two-month low that beat consensus expectations of a rise to 200,000. August new home sales surged 6.4% month-over-month to 684,000, well above the 616,000 forecast and representing an eight-month high. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed late Wednesday that Washington and Beijing have agreed to extend their trade truce by another two months, keeping the deadline at January 10.

On the supply side of the bond market, weak demand at the Treasury's $44 billion auction of seven-year notes—evidenced by a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.42 versus the ten-auction average of 2.49—added to the bearish backdrop for fixed income.

European and Global Equities

Overseas markets ended the session mixed. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.43%, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.22%, and Japan's Nikkei-225 rallied 0.76% to a two-week high.

In the euro area, August new car registrations rose 4.5% year-over-year to 708,000 units. Germany's September IFO business climate survey improved by 1.1 points to 89.9, topping the 89.0 consensus and marking a 3.25-year high. ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel warned that the energy shock triggered by the Iran conflict is proving more persistent than initially anticipated and is spreading beyond crude oil into other sectors. Governing Council member Dimitar Radev urged patience, arguing that policymakers should allow recent rate increases to take effect before considering additional tightening. Traders are assigning a 54% probability of a 25-basis-point ECB hike at the October 29 meeting.

Notable Stock Movers

The rise in long-term rates hit interest-rate-sensitive technology names hardest. ARM Holdings (ARM) led Nasdaq 100 losers with a decline of more than 8%, while Western Digital fell over 4%, SanDisk dropped more than 3%, and NXP Semiconductors and Seagate Technology each lost more than 2%. ASML Holding, Broadcom, Qualcomm, and Microchip Technology all declined by more than 1%.

Software equities also came under pressure. Oracle (ORCL) fell about 3% after the company sent a force majeure notice to the developer of a New Mexico data center project—owned by a Blue Owl Capital unit—in a bid to delay payments should the facility, dubbed Project Jupiter, fail to come online by 2028. Intuit (INTU) dropped more than 3%, while Autodesk, ServiceNow, and IBM each shed over 2%. Atlassian slipped more than 1%.

Freight and trucking stocks were dented by the fuel-cost spike. FedEx Freight (FDXF) fell more than 4%, UPS and Saia Inc. (SAIA) lost over 3%, and Knight-Swift, ArcBest, JB Hunt, Marten Transport, C.H. Robinson, and XPO Inc. each declined more than 2%.

Among other notable moves, Gen Digital (GEN) plunged more than 12% to top S&P 500 losers after the Financial Times reported the company has tabled an acquisition offer for GoDaddy. GoDaddy (GDDY) shares rose more than 4% on the same news. MGM Resorts International (MGM) dropped over 10% following People Inc.'s decision to abandon its plan to acquire the remaining outstanding shares. Rollins (ROL) fell more than 6% after Piper Sandler cut its rating to neutral from overweight. Dropbox (DBX) declined over 4% on a Citigroup downgrade to sell with a $29 price target. Alkami Technology (ALKT) lost more than 2% after JPMorgan Chase issued a double downgrade to underweight from overweight, setting a $14 target.

On the gainers' side, Everpure (P) soared more than 11% to lead S&P 500 advancers after guiding 2028 revenue to $7.0 billion–$7.3 billion, significantly above the $6.19 billion consensus. Charles River Laboratories (CRL) and Revvity (RVTY) each climbed more than 6%, the former after reaffirming 2026 financial guidance and the latter following the launch of an IVDR-certified Type 1 diabetes screening kit.

No US earnings reports were scheduled for release on Friday, September 25, 2026.