Market Summary
U.S. equities staged a broad risk-on rebound at midday Thursday, clawing back a portion of Wednesday’s post-FOMC slide. As of 12:00 ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 360.48 points (+0.70%) to 51822.38, the S&P 500 gained 84.52 points (+1.12%) to 7636.33, and the Nasdaq Composite led the way, up 425.59 points (+1.64%) to 26425.06. The advance was broad-based, with NYSE advancers outpacing decliners 1906 to 721 and Nasdaq advancers leading 3083 to 1032.
The rally was fueled by a retreat in both crude oil and Treasury yields, which took pressure off rate-sensitive sectors and reignited enthusiasm for mega-cap growth and AI infrastructure names. Semiconductors were a standout, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index up roughly 2.9%, while software and other technology names also participated broadly. Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary paced sector gains, while Energy and Consumer Staples lagged as oil prices fell and defensive positioning unwound.
Despite the constructive tape, underlying breadth signals from WaveFinder paint a more cautious picture, with Primary Sentiment reading “Very Bearish” and only 29% of stocks trading above their 20-day moving average. This divergence between today’s price action and longer-term breadth suggests the rebound, while sharp, remains a recovery within a still-fragile technical backdrop following this week’s hawkish Fed repricing.
Market Snapshot
| Index | Level | Change | % Change |
|—|—|—|—|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 51822.38 | +360.48 | +0.70% |
| S&P 500 | 7636.33 | +84.52 | +1.12% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26425.06 | +425.59 | +1.64% |
Advance/Decline (NYSE): 1906 Advancing / 721 Declining | Volume: 229.66 mln
Advance/Decline (Nasdaq): 3083 Advancing / 1032 Declining | Volume: 5.76 bln
WaveFinder Breadth Metrics:
- Primary Sentiment: Very Bearish (Bulls 837 / Bears 924)
- 4% Sentiment: Bullish (Bulls 297 / Bears 36)
- 40 SMA Sentiment: Neutral
- % of Stocks Above 20-day SMA: 29%
- % of Stocks Above 40-day SMA: 28.76%
- 9-Month Bulls: 58 / Bears: 3 (Bull Follow-Through: 64.71%)
Sector Performance
Ranked by intraday performance (Briefing.com Industry Watch + sector commentary):
1. Information Technology — Strong; +2.0% (sector update), semiconductors +2.9-3.2% (PHLX)
2. Consumer Discretionary — Strong; +1.7%, supported by homebuilders and mega-cap leadership
3. Materials — Strong (specific % not disclosed)
4. Utilities — Strong (specific % not disclosed)
5. Industrials — +0.5%, boosted by Generac and Caterpillar strength
6. Health Care — Not flagged strong or weak; no specific % disclosed
7. Communication Services — No specific % disclosed
8. Real Estate — No specific % disclosed
9. Financials — -0.2%, continued pressure from banking names post rate hike
10. Energy — Weak; -0.2%, tracking lower crude prices
11. Consumer Staples — Weak; -0.5%, defensive rotation out of the group
Note: WaveFinder sector ATR (volatility) readings show broadly falling volatility across most sectors except Technology (flat) and Health Care (flat, elevated at 1.48%).
Key Earnings & Movers
- Generac (GNRC) 207.44, +32.34 (+18.47%) — Top S&P 500 mover after issuing an Amazon warrant tied to an $8 billion backup-generator supply agreement for AMZN data centers.
- Amazon (AMZN) 252.20, +6.24 (+2.54%) — Rising on the Generac supply agreement news.
- Oracle (ORCL) 151.58, +8.42 (+5.88%) — Mega-cap standout amid broad software strength.
- Workday (WDAY) 197.28, +9.52 (+5.07%) — Surging on CNBC report of continued take-private financing talks.
- AppLovin (APP) 316.60, -9.96 (-3.05%) — One of the worst performers in the S&P 500.
- Caterpillar (CAT) 801.94, +19.22 (+2.46%) — Dow standout within Industrials.
- Lennar (LEN) 79.44, +1.08 (+1.38%) — Higher despite a Q3 earnings miss and another cut to FY26 delivery guidance.
- NIKE (NKE) 35.92, +0.14 (+0.38%) — Modestly higher after appointing Alexandre Arnault (Moët Hennessy) to its Board.
- Fluence Energy (FLNC) — Under pressure after cutting FY26 guidance (revenue ~$2.4 bln, adjusted EBITDA loss of ~$(200) mln) due to Houston production delays.
- Intuit (INTU) — Little changed after reaffirming Q1/FY27 guidance at Investor Day.
Stock Spotlight
Generac Holdings (GNRC) is the standout story of the session, surging 18.47% to 207.44 after announcing it issued a warrant to Amazon (AMZN) to acquire up to 1,693,745 shares at an exercise price of $200.9266. Of that total, 307,954 warrant shares vested immediately, with the remainder vesting in tranches tied to aggregate gross payments Generac receives for supplying backup power generators to Amazon data centers—up to $8 billion in total. The companies also entered a long-term supply agreement, with initial deliveries expected to total $2.4 billion combined in 2027 and 2028.
The deal underscores the accelerating capital investment cycle around AI and data-center infrastructure, positioning Generac as a direct beneficiary of hyperscaler buildout spending. The news also lifted the broader Industrials sector (+0.5%) and reinforced a theme cited in this morning’s Page One commentary—renewed momentum in the “AI infrastructure trade,” alongside similar pricing-power signals from CoreWeave and Nebius.
Bond Market & Treasuries
Treasuries firmed further into midday, extending an overnight advance. As of the 10:03 ET update, the 10-year note was up 14/32, with its yield at 4.947% (down roughly 6 basis points on the session to 4.95%, per the subsequent equity update).
Yield Check (as of 10:03 ET):
- 2-yr: -5 bps to 4.68%
- 3-yr: -6 bps to 4.75%
- 5-yr: -6 bps to 4.80%
- 10-yr: -6 bps to 4.95%
- 30-yr: -4 bps to 5.31%
Key drivers included a retreat in crude oil prices, the Bank of England’s decision to halt sales of longer-term Gilts (sending the 30-year Gilt yield down 16 bps to 5.22%, back to its August low), and a batch of mixed U.S. data (soft housing figures, low jobless claims, and a hotter Philadelphia Fed prices-paid reading). This follows a sharp selloff Wednesday, when the 10-year yield jumped from 4.95% to 5.01% and the 2-year yield rose from 4.60% to 4.73% following the FOMC’s hawkish 25-bp hike.
Currency: USD/JPY 155.63, EUR/USD 1.1494.
Commodities
Crude Oil (WTI): $100.72/bbl, -$1.71 (-1.6%) as of the 11:30 ET update, providing relief on the inflation front. Oil had traded as low as $99/bbl overnight before bouncing, and pre-market futures were down 2.6% to $99.81/bbl.
Gold, Silver, and Copper price data were not provided in today’s source materials.
Overseas Markets
Asia:
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised its base rate 25 bps to 4.25%, following the Fed’s move.
- Hong Kong’s August unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.7%.
- Singapore’s August trade surplus widened to SGD 13.78 billion (prior SGD 10.898 billion); non-oil exports rose 10.9% m/m (vs. -0.3% prior) and 46.2% yr/yr (vs. 35.0% expected, 24.1% prior).
- New Zealand Q2 GDP expanded 0.2% qtr/qtr (vs. 0.1% expected) and 2.6% yr/yr (vs. 2.3% expected).
- Bank of Japan is slated to deliver a rate hike of its own tonight.
Europe:
- Bank of England voted 6-3 to hold its bank rate at 3.75%; Governor Bailey warned a hike is possible if the Iran conflict is prolonged.
- BoE confirmed it will halt sales of longer-term Gilts, sparking a Gilt rally (30-yr yield -16 bps to 5.22%).
- Eurozone August CPI rose 0.4% m/m (vs. 2.9% expected) and 3.2% yr/yr (vs. 3.3% expected).
- ECB’s Makhlouf reiterated that second-round inflation effects are not being observed.
- Switzerland raised its 2026 growth forecast to 1.7% from 0.9%, while maintaining its 2027 outlook at 1.6%.
Economic Data
- Initial Jobless Claims (week ending 9/12): 196,000, down 10,000 (consensus: 209,000) — signals a low-firing environment.
- Continuing Claims (week ending 9/5): 1.730 million, down 39,000.
- Housing Starts (August): -2.6% m/m to a 1.275 million SAAR (consensus: 1.325 million); single-unit starts rose 7.6%.
- Building Permits (August): -2.7% m/m to 1.394 million (consensus: 1.410 million) — a soft leading indicator across regions for single-family units.
- Philadelphia Fed Index (September): 37.8 (consensus: 35.0), down from 47.4 in August; prices-paid index jumped to 48.6 and prices-received hit 31.3, its highest since April.
- Pending Home Sales (August): +0.3% (consensus: 0.5%; prior: -2.6%) — a modest miss.
Collectively, the data reflected a resilient labor market, a still-soft housing sector, and lingering inflationary pressure in manufacturing input/output prices—reinforcing the “hawkish hike” narrative from Wednesday’s FOMC decision even as lower yields and oil prices supported today’s rebound.
Looking Ahead
- Bank of Japan is expected to deliver a rate hike tonight, with markets watching for spillover effects on the yen and potential unwinding of yen-based carry trades.
- Continued focus on the Treasury market’s rebound as a gauge for how far today’s equity rally can extend; a renewed push higher in yields could curb risk appetite.
- Watch for follow-through in the AI infrastructure trade following pricing and supply-deal news from CoreWeave, Nebius, and Generac/Amazon.
- Monitor Fluence Energy (FLNC) for further guidance developments following its second FY26 cut in as many quarters, and Intuit (INTU) for Q1 results to validate FY27 growth assumptions.