Market Wrap
Published
The S&P 500 finished essentially flat, but the headline number masks a sharp rotation underneath: technology and AI-linked names extended a multi-day rally while financials sold off hard, with the Nasdaq 100 closing at its first record since June.
The dominant story remains the Iran conflict, and the day brought genuine, if inconclusive, diplomatic movement. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Iranian mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in what Trump called a "very productive" three-hour session, and Trump said momentum exists for a deal, though he warned "there will be a time when it's too late." Iran's own account, via state media, says it presented conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz including an end to the naval blockade, release of frozen assets, and a halt to fighting on all fronts, while an IRGC spokesman said Iran would defend itself with full force if attacked. Saudi Arabia moved ahead of any resolution, restarting its East-West pipeline and resuming loadings at Yanbu. WTI crude settled at $94.59, down 1.24%, extending its decline from the prior week's spike, while diesel hit a fresh record above $6.50 a gallon, prompting Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent to weigh a ban on US diesel exports and Senator Sullivan to call for a moratorium. On the Fed, the hawkish tone continued. Boston's Collins reiterated support for last week's rate hike and said the odds of inflation staying persistently above 2% have risen, while Richmond's Barkin said policymakers cannot assume markets alone will keep rates tight enough to cool prices, hoping instead for a 1990s-style soft landing. The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index came in at 2 for September, matching expectations.
Financials (XLF) were the day's clear laggard, down 2.0%, with Charles Schwab falling 6.1%, Wells Fargo down 3.9% and JPMorgan Chase off 3.4%; Goldman Sachs slipped 0.6% even as it was reported to be in talks to acquire credit firm Palmer Square. Materials (XLB) led gainers at +1.7% alongside a rally in gold and copper miners (GDX +3.6%, COPX +2.9%, GDXJ +4.4%), and Consumer Staples (XLP) rose 1.0%. Technology (XLK) added 0.7% despite steep losses in Cisco (-4.8%) and Gen Digital (-6.3%), offset by Micron (+4.8%), Seagate (+5.2%) and Western Digital (+3.4%). Energy (XLE) fell 1.1% as crude eased, with Valero down 3.8% and USO off 2.8%.
Company News
- Shopify jumped over 7% after unveiling a Muse AI partnership with Meta, part of a broader rally in AI-linked names including Rambus, Monolithic Power Systems and Astera Labs.
- AutoZone reported fiscal Q4 EPS of $56.05, beating estimates, though revenue of $6.59 billion missed; the company repurchased $697.5 million of shares in the quarter.
- THOR Industries posted Q4 EPS of $0.78, missing estimates, with revenue of $2.31 billion above expectations; the company cited affordability pressures and rising material costs.
- TransDigm's Extant Aerospace unit agreed to acquire a portfolio of rotorcraft, land systems and business jet assets for about $240 million.
- Cognex agreed to acquire RealSense, a robotic-perception vision technology maker, for approximately $500 million in cash.
- Aon entered a new $4 billion term loan and a $3 billion revolving credit facility to help fund its USI Advantage acquisition.
- Curtiss-Wright named Kevin Rayment as CEO effective January 2027, succeeding Lynn Bamford.
- Travere Therapeutics named Bradley Campbell, former Amicus Therapeutics CEO, as its next chief executive, effective December 1.
- Anthropic released a cheaper Opus 5.5 model ahead of an expected IPO.
- Microsoft is cutting jobs in its Xbox division and folding studios under Activision.