Market Summary
U.S. equities closed a volatile week on a mixed note Friday, September 18, as the S&P 500 (+12.74, +0.17%, to 7650.50) and Nasdaq Composite (+104.25, +0.39%, to 26543.59) staged an afternoon recovery while the DJIA (-95.40, -0.18%, to 51682.64) slipped into the red. The rebound followed a weak first half of the session in which rising Treasury yields and broad selling pushed the major averages to their lows. Only three S&P 500 sectors finished higher, and small- and mid-cap stocks continued to lag, with the Russell 2000 down 0.5% and the S&P Mid Cap 400 down 0.3% on the day.
Leadership was narrow and concentrated in semiconductors and select mega-caps. The PHLX Semiconductor Index surged 2.8% intraday, powering Information Technology (+0.8%) to the top of the sector standings, with memory/storage names Sandisk (+10.99%) and Seagate Technology (+6.93%) standout gainers on AI data-center demand and tight storage supply. Financials (+0.1%) got a lift from a crypto-related rally in Coinbase (+11.66%) and Robinhood (+9.12%) following the SEC’s new “Innovation Exemption” for tokenized equities and Bitcoin’s push past $81,000. Materials (-1.1%) and Utilities (-1.3%) were the weakest groups as steel producers Nucor (-6.32%) and Steel Dynamics (-4.11%) fell on soft Q3 guidance and rate-sensitive names were pressured by a fresh push higher in yields.
For the week, the Nasdaq Composite was the only major index to finish higher (+0.7%), while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, the DJIA fell 1.7%, and the Russell 2000 declined 1.5%. The week was dominated by the FOMC’s 25-bp rate hike (unanimous 12-0 vote) and hawkish commentary from Fed Chair Warsh, which drove the 10-year yield toward 5.00% and pressured small-caps and rate-sensitive sectors even as AI/tech leadership kept the large-cap indices closer to flat.
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 shares
Breadth (Nasdaq): Advancers 2,040, Decliners 2,886, Volume 13.69 bln shares
WaveFinder Market Breadth (as of 9/18):
- Primary Sentiment: Bearish | 4% Sentiment: Bullish | 40-SMA Sentiment: Neutral
- Primary Bulls/Bears: 488 / 657
- 4% Bulls/Bears: 241 / 213
- Stocks Above 20-day SMA: 36%
- Stocks Above 40-day SMA: 23.13%
- 9-Month Bulls/Bears: 34 / 35
- 9-Month Bull Follow-Through: 36.21%
YTD 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
1. Information Technology +0.8% (Strong) — Semiconductor leadership (PHLX Semi Index +2.8%)
2. Industrials +0.5% (Strong)
3. Financials +0.1% (Strong) — Crypto-linked strength (COIN, HOOD)
4. Consumer Discretionary ~Flat/Unchanged — AMZN offset broader weakness
5. Health Care — Not specified in today’s sector commentary (weekly: +1.8%)
6. Communication Services -0.7% — NFLX downgrade weighed on the group
7. Consumer Staples Weak (Briefing Industry Watch; no specific % given)
8. Real Estate Weak (Briefing Industry Watch; ATR -2.91%, flat, P5)
9. Energy Weak (Briefing Industry Watch; ATR 0.23%, falling, P0)
10. Materials -1.1% (Weak) — NUE, STLD guidance-driven declines
11. Utilities -1.3% (Weak) — Pressured by higher Treasury yields
WaveFinder Sector ATR (volatility) supplement: Technology -0.20% (falling, P84); Consumer Discretionary -1.92% (falling, P11); Communication Services +0.15% (flat, P0); Financials -1.17% (falling, P11); Industrials -2.16% (falling, P11); Health Care +1.54% (flat, P37); Energy +0.23% (falling, P0); Consumer Staples -1.37% (flat, P0); Materials -1.56% (falling, P0); Utilities -3.26% (falling, P5); Real Estate -2.91% (flat, P5).
Key Earnings & Movers
- Sandisk (SNDK) 1791.82, +177.43 (+10.99%) — AI data-center demand, tight storage supply
- Seagate Technology (STX) 858.79, +55.66 (+6.93%) — Same storage/AI demand tailwind
- Coherent (COHR) 317.36, +21.38 (+7.22%) — Expanded Pluggable Optical Line System for AI/cloud interconnect
- Coinbase Global (COIN) 194.25, +20.28 (+11.66%) — SEC “Innovation Exemption” for tokenized equities; Bitcoin above $81,000
- Robinhood Markets (HOOD) 119.82, +10.01 (+9.12%) — Same crypto-regulatory catalyst
- Amazon (AMZN) 253.71, +2.52 (+1.00%) — Helped offset broader Consumer Discretionary weakness
- Nucor (NUE) 248.38, -16.76 (-6.32%) — Q3 EPS guidance ($5.55–$5.65) below consensus
- Steel Dynamics (STLD) 235.26, -10.09 (-4.11%) — Q3 EPS guidance ($5.34–$5.38) below consensus
- Netflix (NFLX) 71.77, -3.54 (-4.70%) — Wells Fargo downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight
- T-Mobile (TMUS) — New 52-week low, now down >30% from 52-wk high of $242.37, amid competitive pressure from VZ/T and SpaceX mobile ambitions
- Xenon Pharmaceuticals (XENE) — Under pressure after pausing enrollment in MDD/bipolar depression studies, overshadowing azetukalner NDA submission for focal seizures
Stock Spotlight
Steel Sector: Nucor (NUE) and Steel Dynamics (STLD)
Nucor (-6.32% to $248.38) and Steel Dynamics (-4.11% to $235.26) were among the session’s most notable decliners after both issued Q3 EPS guidance below analyst expectations — NUE at $5.55–$5.65 and STLD at $5.34–$5.38. The miss surprised investors given that Q3 is typically a seasonally strong period for steelmakers, as warmer weather supports higher shipments and stronger demand from nonresidential construction and infrastructure. Nucor cited higher costs of products sold and increased corporate/eliminations expense as offsets to improving steel mills and steel products segments, while raw materials earnings are expected to decline.
Despite the headline disappointment, the underlying commentary was more constructive: both companies pointed to higher average steel selling prices, with STLD also citing lower scrap costs and persistently low customer inventories supporting favorable pricing. The domestic steel market remains underpinned by a 50% U.S. tariff on imports, tight supply, and solid — if not booming — demand across construction, energy, automotive, and industrial end markets. The takeaway for investors is that near-term earnings pressure from costs and corporate expenses shouldn’t be read as a deterioration in the broader pricing and demand backdrop for domestic steel producers.
Bond Market & Treasuries
Treasuries finished the week on a weak note, with the 10-year note yield closing at 5.00% (+5 bps on the day, +2 bps week-to-date), within a few basis points of its 2026 high set earlier in the week. Shorter maturities underperformed:
- 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) — long bond outperformed for the week
The 2s10s spread tightened 8 bps to 26 bps. Key drivers included the Bank of Japan’s 25-bp rate hike to 1.25% (7-2 vote) without an accompanying hawkish tone, which pressured the yen (USD/JPY +0.5% to 156.68) and stoked concern about potential Japanese selling of Treasuries. The U.S. Dollar Index touched a seven-week high before settling little changed at 100.25 (+1.1% for the week). EUR/USD ended +0.1% at 1.1485; GBP/USD +0.3% to 1.3394; USD/CNH -0.1% to 6.6949.
Commodities
- WTI Crude: $100.24/bbl, -1.8% — nearly flat for the week
- Gold: $4,425.30/ozt, +0.6%
- Copper: $6.69/lb, +0.5%
- Silver: Not reported in available data
Overseas Markets
Specific index-level data for Asian and European bourses was not provided in today’s data set. Key overseas developments included:
- Bank of Japan: Raised its key policy rate 25 bps to 1.25% (7-2 vote); Governor Ueda avoided a hawkish tone, weighing on the yen intraday before a partial recovery.
- Japan: August National CPI +0.1% m/m (prior +0.5%), +1.9% yr/yr (prior +1.9%); Core CPI +1.7% yr/yr (expected 1.8%, prior 1.8%)
- South Korea: August PPI +0.2% m/m (prior -0.4%), +7.9% yr/yr (prior +7.7%)
- New Zealand: August FPI +0.3% m/m (prior +0.1%); trade deficit narrowed to NZD1.35 bln (expected deficit NZD1.775 bln, prior NZD2.118 bln)
- Eurozone: July Current Account surplus EUR27.6 bln (expected EUR30.7 bln, prior EUR35.1 bln); July Construction Output unchanged m/m (prior -1.53%)
- U.K.: August Retail Sales +0.5% m/m (expected -0.2%, prior -0.5%), +2.4% yr/yr (expected +1.9%, prior +1.2%); Core Retail Sales +0.6% m/m, +2.7% yr/yr
- Germany: August PPI +1.1% m/m (expected +0.6%, prior +1.1%), +4.6% yr/yr (expected +4.1%, prior +3.0%)
- Reserve Bank of Australia’s Bullock noted rising global bond yields have not been disorderly but flagged upside inflation risks; ECB officials (including Lagarde) emphasized meeting-by-meeting policy decisions and avoiding second-round inflation effects.
Economic Data
- Industrial Production (August): Unchanged m/m (Briefing.com consensus +0.3%) following an unrevised +0.2% in July. Total industrial production up 1.4% yr/yr. Weakness attributed to a manufacturing output decline that may reflect attrition after seven consecutive months of gains.
- Capacity Utilization (August): 76.3% (consensus 76.4%), unchanged from July; 3.1 percentage points below its long-run average.
- Leading Economic Index (August): -0.1% (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%) following a +0.2% July reading — a modestly negative signal for forward growth expectations.
Looking Ahead
Week Ahead (per Bond Market Update):
- 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)
Investors will continue to monitor the trajectory of Treasury yields near 5.00% on the 10-year, ongoing AI/semiconductor sector leadership, and follow-through in crypto-related equities following the SEC’s tokenized equities exemption.