Market Review: September 15, 2026

Closing Recap

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

U.S. stocks finished near the lows heading into the September FOMC policy meeting tomorrow where expectations are high for the Fed to raise rates by 25 bps…but will they actually pull the trigger following CPI and PPI data that showed rates holding stubbornly high last week remains the question. The S&P 500 has now fallen five of the last six trading days in what is historically the worst month of the year for Wall Street as Treasury yields jumped across the board with the 10-year hitting above 5% for 20-year highs and oil prices continuing its push higher. Crypto assets and related stocks (MSTR, COIN) tumbled this afternoon (Bitcoin hit lows just below $75K) after the Clarity Act failed the procedural vote hurdle in the Senate today, which was seen as a long shot given lack of Democratic votes. Bitcoin, Ethereum and other crypto assets tumbled on the headlines. Meanwhile, oil and diesel prices continue to surge, along with treasury yields pressuring stock markets and impacting consumer spending (note lots of consumer sectors were hit today with retailers and restaurants falling). Banking stocks have also seen a sharp downturn in recent weeks, with names like JPM, Citi and Goldman tumbling as yields rise. It has been a quiet few days/weeks heading into this FOMC meeting and major averages have held in a tight range, but will tomorrow’s FOMC policy meeting shake things up? Will there be further hawkish commentary? Stay tuned!

Central Bank news this week plentiful: 1) the FOMC concludes its 2-day policy meeting Wednesday where expectations have risen sharply for a 25 bps rate hike to fight off inflation given surging oil and hotter CPI, PPI inflation data lately, but political pressure remains a potential pushback – especially ahead of mid-term elections in November. 2) The Bank of Japan is expected to raise its policy rate by 25 bps to 1.25% this week, marking its 3rd hike in less than 10 months and the fastest pace of tightening since 1990. The move comes as the Yen remains weak, inflationary pressures persist, and Japanese bond yields continue to rise, with the BOJ trying to support the currency while keeping the rise in bond yields under control. 3) The Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday is not expected to make any changes to interest rates at this time.

• Gold prices edged lower again, as December gold declined -$19.10 or 0.44% to settle at $4,332.80 an ounce while silver prices fell -$0.28 or 0.44% to $63.86 an ounce. Gold fell to more than 1 month lows ahead of the U.S. Fed policy decision due on Wednesday. A combination of higher oil, inflation concerns and Treasury yields/the dollar moving higher still weighing on precious metals sentiment. Traders are currently pricing in a 92% chance of a 25-basis-point hike, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. The dollar climbed, while benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rose to their highest since 2007.

• Beauty sector: ULTA was upgraded to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo and raised the tgt to $525 from $450 saying ULTA is navigating industry headwinds better than expected. Post CFO meeting, they believe if the model were going to break…it would be happening by now (and it doesn’t seem to be). ELF price tgt raised to $118 from $100 at Bank America and Reiterate Buy on higher estimates for Rhode noting Rhode is launching on Sept 30th in Sephora Europe; BAML estimate an opportunity of $150-$200M in sales from the region.
• Online Retail/Internet: ETSY was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer with a $90 price target citing the company’s AI search benefits, product improvements, and app engagement for the upgrade; AMZN announced Prime Big Deal Days returns October 6–7, kicking off the season with 48 hours of Prime member-exclusive deals across more than 35 categories—all with fast, free delivery.
• Footwear retail sector: BOOT announced preliminary 2Q results in line with the Street as highlighted 2Q trends improving to +2% SSS growth in August and remaining at similar levels into September, with improvement across most major categories; said strength from new store openings should drive 2Q sales to the high end of the guidance range with EPS also expected toward the high end of the range.
• Restaurant sector: sector was broadly lower with notable declines for CMG, DRI, EAT, WING and others maybe on surging oil/higher rates which both directly impact consumer spending, but today was overly aggressive; PLAY shares fell after reported a substantial Q2 earnings miss, with revenue of $544.1M falling 2.3% below consensus and AEBITDA of $98.9M missing by 17.6% and EPS was loss of (-$0.27) versus consensus of $0.19; comparable sales improved sequentially to -2.9% from -5.4% in Q1, including improvement from -5.0% in June to -1.6% in July, but failed to quantify the Q3-to-date trend. Separately, Wells Fargo said they are getting serious about casual as they favor EAT into its Investor Day and said they are buying the TXRH dip; lean cautious into DRI FQ1 EPS.

• Industrial sector: MIDD upgraded to Overweight at JP Morgan with $147 tgt as believes the recent sell-off was primarily driven by an underwhelming Q2 margin print that should improve in the coming quarters and as event-driven investors lightened/exited their holdings after the MFP spin-off in July.
• In Defense sector: AXON shares tumbled after the maker of Tasers, body cameras and drones announces public offering of $1B,  0% convertible bonds to mature Sept 15, 2031 saying it intends to use net offering proceeds for general purposes, including to support growth and for potential investments and acquisitions

• Insurance sector: mortgage insurance companies ACGL, ESNT, MTG, RDN, NMIH weakened after FHFA head Bill Pulte noted on X, “"If your Home is worth more, or you have paid the loan down far enough, you should be able to drop EXTRA Mortgage Insurance. Right now Fannie Mae will not let your loan company call and tell you that you may qualify because your home has gone up in value! You have to know to ask. Freddie Mac will let them call. That is crazy. We are fixing that. Fannie Mae will follow Freddie’s rule: if you may qualify to drop unnecessary extra Insurance because your home has gained value, they can contact you and walk you through how to cancel your PMI. You can stop paying for coverage you do not need and keep the money."
• Brokers & Exchanges: SCHW said net new assets brought to the company increased 46% versus August 2025 to reach $64.8B – a record for the month of August. Total client assets equaled $13.41T as of month-end August, up 19% from August 2025 and up 3% compared to July 2026. New brokerage accounts opened during the month totaled 424,000, an increase of 11% versus August 2025.
• Consumer lending sector: ENVA shares tumbled after announced that it has withdrawn its applications with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System related to the proposed acquisition of Grasshopper Bancorp; reaffirms year guidance. GNW shares fell after a UK Court of Appeal denied AXA’s appeal of a trial court judgment rejecting its contribution claim, finding Santander not liable for the vast majority of AXA’s losses from payment protection insurance mis selling; Genworth says it is analyzing the judgment and evaluating next steps, including options for further appeals
• Payment sector: Goldman Sachs said they came away from Communacopia + Tech Conference with a constructive view on the Payments/FinTech sector noting highlights included resilient consumer spending, renewed enthusiasm around agentic commerce, and favorable credit and funding trends. The firm noted V and MA were highlighted as top picks given stable spending trends, accelerating value-added services growth, and their positioning as beneficiaries of agentic commerce. Buy Now Pay Later names AFRM and KLAR were also highlighted on strong secular growth, healthy credit conditions, and a favorable macro backdrop, while consumer fintechs CHYM and XYZ continue to benefit from wallet share gains, credit product strength, and regulatory tailwinds.

• CTNM shares fell after saying its experimental depression drug, co-developed with JNJ called JNJ-5120 or PIPE-307, did not show the required improvement in depression symptoms compared to a placebo; JNJ stated it continues to review the broader data from the study to decide the next steps for the medicine.
• GSK announced a deal to acquire a trispecific T cell-engager from Chimagen Biosciences targeting multiple myeloma, with a total potential value of up to $750 million.
• LLY said it will unveil Phase 2 data for eloraTZP, their latest triple-acting medicine combining the selective amylin receptor agonist eloralintide and GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist tirzepatide.
• LLY was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Berenberg and raise tgt to $1,400 saying their 2026 RORI analysis confirms Eli Lilly’s strong track record of delivering best-in class returns on investment.
• SION announced plans to advance its dual combination, NBD1 stabilizer SION-451 + SION-2222, into a Phase 2a proof-of-concept trial in cystic fibrosis in 1Q27 following a post-hoc analysis of the PreciSION CF Phase 2a study of NBD1 stabilizer SION-719.
• VERA kidney drug Trutakna shows strong final results in Phase 3 trial saying participants who received weekly injections of Trutakna saw their kidneys lose function at an annualized rate of 0.6 points compared to an annualized function loss of 5.6 points for patients receiving a placebo.

• Medical technology: TEM shares rallied after management said the company can sustain 25%+ growth for years. That comes as Tempus expands into genomic testing clinical data Pharma licensing Ai models digital pathology and recurring cancer monitoring.
• Medical devices: RMD was upgraded to Outperform at RBC Capital saying the company will continue benefiting from increased awareness and penetration of the global obstructive sleep apnea market.
• Healthcare Services: AGL was upgraded to Outperform at Bernstein and raised tgt to $125 from $86 saying Agilon has been instituting a turnaround focused on risk taking discipline, coupled with incremental Medical cost improvements.

• Media Sector: NYT was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Guggenheim and raised tgt to $82 from $70 as their upward revisions to Q4 and 2027 forecasts reflect greater conviction that NYT can sustain low-double digit digital advertising growth over the next several quarters and deliver ~10% digital subscription growth next year (growing ARPU, total digital net adds 1.09mm+), and maintain cost discipline.
• Semiconductor sector: Chipmaker Altera has confidentially filed for an IPO in the U.S., according to a company statement. The offering could raise over $2 billion, potentially making it one of the largest semiconductor listings in recent years.