Mid-Morning Look: September 28, 2026

Mid-Morning Look

Monday, September 28, 2026

U.S. stocks stuck in neutral as Friday’s gains have been erased as the ongoing combination of higher oil prices leading to inflation concerns and surging treasury yields has weighed on investor sentiment as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues to wreak havoc on energy markets. Late Friday, President Trump rejected Iran’s 7-day ceasefire proposal and has told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the November midterms, as per the WSJ. Iran insisted on Sunday that only diplomacy can solve the conflict with the U.S. and Israel, as per Reuters. Axios reported on Sunday that the president expects talks with Iran this week, as picked up by Bloomberg. Oil prices jumped this morning with Brent hitting highs near $109 before paring gains slightly and WTI crude gains. Treasury yields surge as the 30-year U.S. Treasury trades above 5.55% for highest levels since May 2004, last up 3.9 basis points at 5.541%, while the benchmark 10-year rises over 5bps to 5.24%. All else remains second fiddle, though there were another round of busy tech and AI related headlines today (Open AI, NVDA stock buyback, more below).

• Restaurant sector: BROS Reiterate Buy and $60 PT at Davidson as view -26% pullback over the past month as a highly attractive entry point; says while investor concerns remain centered on intensifying competition, QSR Beverage expansion, and the lap of last year’s breakfast rollout, third party CC data and DADA’s store checks suggest underlying traffic remains healthy. SG was upgraded to Overweight and $11 tgt at Wells Fargo saying while the past 6 quarters have been marked by a series of operational & demand-related challenges, mgmt delivered a constructive message last week.

• KOD +115%; after saying its experimental drugs Zenkuda and tabirafusp-ted met the main goals of a late-stage trial in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration. Both drugs achieved vision gains at one year that were not inferior to aflibercept, the comparison treatment
• NVDA +2%; announces a $150B share repurchase authorization increase, boosting total remaining buyback capacity to $235B through FY28 and underscoring confidence in the long-term AI opportunity; the company also unveiled the Nvidia Open Agent Safety Platform, a software framework aimed at reducing risks associated with autonomous AI agents; also reports China is considering allowing select domestic firms to purchase Nvidia’s RTX Pro 5500 workstation chips.
• RCL +1%; was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Banks with $299 tgt saying they believe the stock’s 26% decline since August 5 (with the SPX being flat) provides considerably more favorable risk/reward from current levels.
• SG +5%; was upgraded to Overweight and $11 tgt at Wells Fargo saying while the past 6 quarters have been marked by a series of operational & demand-related challenges, mgmt delivered a constructive message last week.

• CRCL -2%; announced on Friday that Jeremy Fox-Geen intends to step down as CFO after 5+ years in the role. Fox-Geen will continue to serve as CFO through the earlier of Dec 31, 2026.
• GFI -11%; after Northern Star Resources (NESRF) rejected Gold Fields’ $27B takeover proposal, saying the offer materially undervalued the Australian gold miner. Gold Fields proposed acquiring Northern Star through a combination of 0.3125 Gold Fields shares and A$7.25 in cash
• MDB -20%; after CEO CJ Desai steps down, Dev Ittycheria named interim CEO; Desai is leaving to pursue a senior role at Meta Platforms. MongoDB has begun a search for a permanent CEO and retained an executive search firm.
• RBLX -7%; was downgraded to Underperform at Jefferies saying the stock’s rally post the Q2 results reflects an overly optimistic view of Roblox’s 12 month bookings trajectory, and believes Roblox’s improvement in U.S./Canada user and bookings growth will be longer and more costly.
• SNOW -3%; after announces proposed private placement of $3.5B of 0.00% convertible Senior notes; net proceeds to fund capped calls, repurchase 2027 notes, and general corporate purposes