Market Summary
U.S. equities closed a volatile week on a mixed note Friday, with the S&P 500 (+12.74, +0.17%, to 7650.50) and Nasdaq Composite (+104.25, +0.39%, to 26543.59) eking out modest gains while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 95.40 points (-0.18%) to 51682.64. The session featured a pronounced afternoon recovery after rising Treasury yields and broad selling pressure had pushed the major averages to their lows earlier in the day. That rebound was driven almost entirely by renewed strength in semiconductor and select mega-cap names rather than a broad-based advance — only three of eleven S&P 500 sectors finished in positive territory, and participation remained narrow throughout.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index surged 2.8% during the session, powering the information technology sector (+0.8%) to the top of the sector standings, with memory and storage names Sandisk (+10.99%) and Seagate Technology (+6.93%) leading the charge amid continued AI data-center demand enthusiasm. Mega-cap strength, led by Amazon (+1.00%), helped offset weakness elsewhere, while the financials sector (+0.1%) got a lift from a surge in crypto-related names following the SEC’s new “Innovation Exemption” and Bitcoin’s push past $81,000. Small- and mid-cap stocks continued to lag badly, with the Russell 2000 down 0.5% and the S&P Mid Cap 400 down 0.3% on the day, leaving the Nasdaq as the only major index to post a weekly gain (+0.7% WTD) versus declines for the S&P 500 (-0.1%), DJIA (-1.7%), and Russell 2000 (-1.5%).
The backdrop remained challenging as the 10-year Treasury yield climbed five basis points to 5.00%, closing the week near 2026 highs and pressuring rate-sensitive sectors. Utilities (-1.3%) and materials (-1.1%) were the weakest groups on the day, the latter hurt by disappointing Q3 guidance from steelmakers Nucor and Steel Dynamics. WaveFinder breadth data show underlying market sentiment remains cautious, with the Primary Sentiment reading Bearish despite the constructive headline index moves — a reminder that Friday’s gains were concentrated in a narrow slice of mega-cap and semiconductor leadership.
Market Snapshot
| Index | Level | Change | % Change |
|—|—|—|—|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 51,682.64 | -95.40 | -0.18% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,543.59 | +104.25 | +0.39% |
| S&P 500 | 7,650.50 | +12.74 | +0.17% |
Breadth (NYSE): Advancers 912, Decliners 1,817, Volume 4.35 bln
Breadth (Nasdaq): Advancers 2,040, Decliners 2,886, Volume 13.69 bln
WaveFinder Market Breadth (9/18):
- Primary Sentiment: Bearish (Bulls 490 / Bears 658)
- 4% Sentiment: Bullish (Bulls 241 / Bears 213)
- 40 SMA Sentiment: Neutral
- 9-Month Bulls 34 / Bears 35; Bull Follow-Through 36.21%
- % of Stocks Above 20-day SMA: 36%
- % of Stocks Above 40-day SMA: 29.36%
Year-to-Date Performance: Russell 2000 +15.3% | Nasdaq Composite +14.1% | S&P 500 +11.8% | S&P Mid Cap 400 +10.5% | DJIA +7.5%
Sector Performance
Ranked by daily performance (Briefing.com); WaveFinder ATR reflects sector volatility trend/percentile.
| Rank | Sector | Daily Performance | ATR (Volatility) |
|—|—|—|—|
| 1 | Information Technology | +0.8% | -0.20% (falling, P84) |
| 2 | Industrials | +0.5% | -2.16% (falling, P11) |
| 3 | Financials | +0.1% | -1.17% (falling, P11) |
| 4 | Consumer Discretionary | Unchanged | -1.92% (falling, P11) |
| 5 | Communication Services | -0.7% | 0.15% (flat, P0) |
| 6 | Materials | -1.1% | -1.56% (falling, P0) |
| 7 | Utilities | -1.3% | -3.26% (falling, P5) |
| 8 | Energy | Weak (no % disclosed) | 0.23% (falling, P0) |
| 9 | Real Estate | Weak (no % disclosed) | -2.91% (flat, P5) |
| 10 | Consumer Staples | Weak (no % disclosed) | -1.37% (flat, P0) |
| 11 | Health Care | Not specified today | 1.54% (flat, P37) |
Only Information Technology, Industrials, and Financials finished higher; Materials, Utilities, Energy, Real Estate, and Consumer Staples were flagged as the session’s weak spots per Briefing.com’s Industry Watch.
Key Earnings & Movers
- Sandisk (SNDK) 1791.82, +177.43 (+10.99%) — AI data-center demand and tight storage supply drove memory/storage sector strength.
- Seagate Technology (STX) 858.79, +55.66 (+6.93%) — Storage sector tailwinds tied to AI infrastructure buildout.
- Coherent (COHR) 317.36, +21.38 (+7.22%) — Announced expansion of Pluggable Optical Line System portfolio for cloud/AI interconnect needs.
- Coinbase Global (COIN) 194.25, +20.28 (+11.66%) — Rallied on SEC’s new “Innovation Exemption” for tokenized equities and Bitcoin’s push above $81,000.
- Robinhood Markets (HOOD) 119.82, +10.01 (+9.12%) — Same crypto-regulatory catalyst as COIN.
- Amazon (AMZN) 253.71, +2.52 (+1.00%) — Helped keep consumer discretionary sector flat despite broader group weakness.
- Nucor (NUE) 248.38, -16.76 (-6.32%) — Guided Q3 EPS to $5.55-5.65, below consensus.
- Steel Dynamics (STLD) 235.26, -10.09 (-4.11%) — Guided Q3 EPS to $5.34-5.38, below consensus.
- Netflix (NFLX) 71.77, -3.54 (-4.70%) — Downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo.
- T-Mobile (TMUS) — Hit a new 52-week low, now down more than 30% from its 52-week high of $242.37, amid intensifying competition from Verizon and AT&T and longer-term SpaceX mobile ambitions.
- Xenon Pharmaceuticals (XENE) — Under heavy pressure after voluntarily pausing new patient enrollment in MDD and bipolar depression studies, overshadowing a positive NDA submission for azetukalner in focal seizures.
- Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) — Announced Warren Buffett will become Chairman Emeritus effective immediately, with son Howard Buffett elected Chairman of the Board.
- Apple (AAPL) — iPhone 18 went on sale today, drawing consumer lines at retail stores.
Stock Spotlight
The steel complex was one of the more notable — and counterintuitive — stories of the session, with Nucor (NUE) falling 6.32% to $248.38 (-$16.76) and Steel Dynamics (STLD) dropping 4.11% to $235.26 (-$10.09) after both companies guided Q3 EPS below Wall Street expectations. Nucor guided to $5.55-5.65 per share and Steel Dynamics to $5.34-5.38, both missing estimates in what is typically a seasonally strong quarter for steel shipments given warmer-weather-driven construction and fabrication demand.
Despite the headline miss, the underlying commentary was more constructive than the stock reaction suggests. Both companies pointed to higher steel selling prices, with Steel Dynamics also citing lower scrap costs and continued strong customer order activity supported by persistently low inventories. The 50% U.S. tariff on steel imports continues to limit import competition, keeping domestic supply tight and pricing power intact across construction, energy, automotive, and industrial end markets. Briefing.com’s analysis suggests the guidance miss reflects cost and corporate-expense offsets rather than a deterioration in underlying demand — a distinction investors may need to watch closely heading into Q3 earnings season, as the materials sector (-1.1% on the day) bore the brunt of the reaction.
Bond Market & Treasuries
U.S. Treasuries closed the week on a weak note, pushing yields on the 10-year and shorter tenors back near their 2026 highs, while the long bond continued to outperform.
Yield Levels (daily / weekly change):
- 2-yr: 4.74% (+5 bps day, +10 bps week)
- 3-yr: 4.83% (+7 bps day, +10 bps week)
- 5-yr: 4.86% (+6 bps day, +7 bps week)
- 10-yr: 5.00% (+5 bps day, +2 bps week)
- 30-yr: 5.33% (+4 bps day, -3 bps week)
The 2s10s spread tightened 8 bps this week to 26 bps, reflecting continued underperformance at the front end. Key drivers included the Bank of Japan’s 25-basis-point rate hike to 1.25% (a 7-2 vote, seen as lacking a hawkish tone), which weighed on the yen and fueled speculation about potential Japanese selling of Treasuries. The U.S. Dollar Index finished at 100.25 (+1.1% for the week) after touching a seven-week high intraday. In currencies: USD/JPY +0.5% to 156.68, EUR/USD +0.1% to 1.1485, GBP/USD +0.3% to 1.3394, USD/CNH -0.1% to 6.6949.
Fed Governor Bowman also spoke on the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank failure review, noting regulators failed to address the bank’s interest-rate risk, and indicated the Fed Board will consider revisions to stress tests.
Commodities
- WTI Crude Oil: $100.24/bbl, -1.8% on the day, essentially unchanged for the week
- Gold: $4,425.30/ozt, +0.6%
- Copper: $6.69/lb, +0.5%
- Silver: not reported in available data
Overseas Markets
No specific overseas index levels (Nikkei, Hang Seng, FTSE, DAX) were provided in today’s data. Key overseas developments centered on the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%, a widely expected move that nonetheless produced a 7-2 vote split, with two dissents favoring no change. Governor Ueda’s failure to strike a more hawkish tone weighed on the yen, though it recovered more than half of its overnight loss during the U.S. session.
Additional overseas economic data: Japan’s August National CPI rose 0.1% m/m (1.9% y/y), National Core CPI +1.7% (vs. 1.8% expected); China’s August FDI was down 5.3% YTD; South Korea’s August PPI rose 0.2% m/m (7.9% y/y); New Zealand’s August trade deficit came in narrower than expected at NZD1.35 bln; Eurozone’s July current account surplus was EUR27.6 bln (below the EUR30.7 bln expected); U.K. August retail sales rose 0.5% m/m (vs. -0.2% expected), up 2.4% y/y; Germany’s August PPI rose 1.1% m/m, above the 0.6% consensus. ECB President Lagarde reiterated a meeting-by-meeting approach to rate decisions, while French PM Lecornu targeted EUR54 bln in 2027 budget savings to keep the deficit below 5.5% of GDP.
Economic Data
- Industrial Production (August): Unchanged m/m (consensus: +0.3%) following an unrevised +0.2% in July. Total industrial production was up 1.4% year-over-year. The softness stemmed from a decline in manufacturing output, which may reflect simple attrition after seven consecutive months of gains.
- Capacity Utilization Rate (August): 76.3% (consensus: 76.4%), unchanged from July and 3.1 percentage points below its long-run average.
- Conference Board Leading Economic Index (August): -0.1% (consensus: +0.2%) after a +0.2% increase in July — a notably weaker-than-expected reading.
Looking Ahead
The Week Ahead:
- Monday: Nothing of note scheduled.
- Tuesday: $69 billion 2-year Treasury note auction results at 13:00 ET.
- Wednesday: Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior: -4.1%) at 7:00 ET; flash September S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI (prior: 53.9) and flash September S&P Global U.S. Services PMI (prior: 56.5) at 9:45 ET; weekly crude oil inventories (time not specified in available data).
Markets will continue to monitor the 10-year yield’s proximity to the 5.00% threshold, the durability of semiconductor-led leadership, and any follow-through in crypto-related equities following this week’s SEC “Innovation Exemption” announcement.