Markets News, Sep. 17, 2026: Tech Stocks Rise, Lead Major U.S. Indexes Higher; Bond Yields, Oil Prices Drop

Technology stocks powered major indexes to sharp gains Thursday a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years.

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.7%, 1.1%, and 0.6%, respectively. Information Technology was the top-performing sector in the S&P 500, rising more than 2%.

The three indexes closed yesterday lower for the seventh time in eight sessions, with the Dow shedding more than 600 points, after the Fed unanimously raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and Chair Kevin Warsh told reporters that inflation has been “too high … for too long.”

The 10-year Treasury yield, which serves as a benchmark for a wide range of interest rates, including those for mortgages, corporate bonds, and other loans, was around 4.94% in late-afternoon trading, down more than eight basis points from Wednesday’s close.

Investor attention has now turned to the likely path forward for rates. Per the CME FedWatch tool, traders see a 53% likelihood that the Fed will raise interest rates a quarter-percentage point above its new range of 3.75% to 4% at its late-October meeting, and an 87% likelihood of lifting them by the same amount in December after the U.S. midterm elections.

Oil prices extended recent declines Thursday on optimism that supply disruptions because of a closed Saudi Arabian pipeline would be short-lived. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate prices were down 1.2% to $101.25 a barrel around 4 p.m. ET. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, declined 1.7% to just above $104.

Tech stocks powered gains Thursday, with the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) and broader iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) closing up about 4.5% and 3.5%, respectively. Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Intel (INTC), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Micron Technology (MU), Sandisk (SNDK), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Arm Holdings (ARM) all were up by roughly 5% or more.

Shares of Generac Holdings (GNRC) soared 19% on news of a deal worth up to $8 billion to sell backup power generators to Amazon (AMZN) for data centers. Amazon advanced more than 2%, as did its Magnificent Seven brethren; the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) closed nearly 2%.

Bitcoin was trading around $76,500, modestly higher over the past 24 hours. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, ticked 0.1% lower to 100.20. Gold futures edged 0.1% lower to $4,385 an ounce.

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 08:13 PM GMT

Mortgage Rates Just Took Their Biggest Jump in Over a Year

The housing market was already stalling. Now borrowing costs have jumped to their highest in more than a year.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.95% from 6.76% a week ago, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s the highest since late January 2025 and the biggest one-week jump since April 2025.

The surge in borrowing costs came after the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed Tuesday to its highest since 2007. Mortgage rates largely track Treasury yields, which rise when investors are concerned about inflation. Yields rose over 5% as fighting in the Middle East pushed up oil prices and sent diesel to record prices.

Rising rates since the Iran war began in late February have already added hundreds of dollars to the typical mortgage payment on a newly purchased home, pushing buyers out of the market and slowing sales.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 07:33 PM GMT

Yeti Holdings Stock Rises After Company Unveils Fiscal 2030 Targets

Yeti Holdings shareholders seem to be responding positively to the cooler maker’s long-term financial framework.

Yeti (YETI) shares are rising 4% heading into the close after the company announced ahead of its investor day that it sees “low-double-digit to high-teens” annual adjusted earnings per share growth through 2030, as well as “mid-single-digit to high-single-digit” annual net sales growth.

“As we enter our next decade, we are focused on four priorities: creating the next billion dollars of sales, building our next billion-dollar product platform, generating a billion dollars of sales outside the United States and delivering more than a billion dollars of cumulative free cash flow,” Yeti CEO Matt Reintjes said. “These priorities are underpinned by a clear operating plan and disciplined capital allocation framework, which we believe will drive durable growth and attractive long-term shareholder returns.”

Austin, Texas-based Yeti also affirmed its fiscal 2026 guidance, including sales growth of 7% to 8% and adjusted EPS of $2.94 to $3.00.

Despite today’s gains, Yeti shares are about 5% lower this year.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 06:38 PM GMT

Bond Markets Like What They Heard From Fed Chair Kevin Warsh

If bond markets gave report cards, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh would get high marks for Wednesday’s meeting, where the Fed raised rates for the first time since 2023.

It wasn’t a smooth path to get there. Bond investors have been lukewarm on Warsh in the early days of his tenure, a worry that ultimately costs households and businesses by raising mortgage rates and other borrowing costs.

Bond investors see inflation as an enemy, since rising prices eat at the fixed interest payments they collect on bonds. And they’ve had trouble taking Warsh at his word that he, too, dislikes inflation enough to raise rates and return it to 2%—the latest reading pegged it at an annual rate of 3.4%.

Warsh quelled those doubts on Wednesday. He gave a “confident, pound-the-podium press conference argument that the FOMC would achieve the 2% inflation target,” wrote James Egelhof, chief U.S. economist at BNP Paribas.

Read the full article here.

–Polo Rocha

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 05:34 PM GMT

Arm’s CEO Says the Chip Designer Is Even More Confident in Hitting $2B AI Chip Sales Target. The Stock Is Rallying

Bullish comments from Arm Holdings’ chief executive last night are helping its stock rank among the Nasdaq’s top gainers today.

Arm’s (ARM) U.S.-listed shares are up 8% as tech stocks rally Thursday, a day after CEO Rene Haas told CNBC’s Jim Cramer that the firm is even “more confident today” it can meet the $2 billion sales target for its debut AI chip than it was when it announced the goal on its May earnings call.

Haas said demand for Arm’s products has “never been stronger,” and said the main constraint on its ability to grow revenue will be its ability to secure supply in the crowded AI chip market.

Arm has long made most of its money from designing chips used in smartphones and for other tech companies, including Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOGL). Amid a weakening smartphone market, the company announced plans back in March to start selling its own AI chip. At the time, the company said the new chip could drive $15 billion in sales by 2031.

With Thursday’s rally, Arm’s U.S.-listed shares have gained 140% this year. Still, they are down more than 40% since hitting an all-time high of $452.70 on June 18, as worries about the sustainability of spending on artificial intelligence have weighed on AI-tied stocks.

–Aaron McDade

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 05:11 PM GMT

The SEC Steps In to Ease Crypto’s Path After Big Legislative Loss

Federal agencies are stepping up their support for digital assets after a major disappointment for the cryptocurrency industry in Congress earlier this week.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday handed the industry what is effectively a hall pass, in the form of a five-year conditional exemption of existing securities laws, that facilitates trading of tokenized stocks, or digital representations of public companies’ shares that can move on blockchains. Versions of this exist today, via Robinhood and others, though the vast majority are synthetic or derivative-based investment products and are circulated outside of the U.S.

The federal agency’s signal that it’s working to clear the regulatory path for crypto arrived swiftly—just 48 hours after the Clarity Act, a broad framework for digital assets, suffered a near-death blow to passage on Tuesday when the bill failed to garner enough votes to pass through Senate’s cloture vote, a procedural motion that could’ve moved it to a floor vote.

The Trump administration’s commitment to keep crypto moving forward in the absence of a clear legislative path for industry-specific rules appears to be keeping spirits up. Bitcoin got a small boost following the SEC’s move, leaving it around where it was prior to the cloture vote. Crypto-linked stocks including Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), and Circle (CRCL) were up at least 3% in recent trading.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in a video message published today that the agency is using “its statutory authority” in the wake of Congress’ inability to advance the Clarity Act “to ensure progress continues.”

The exemption, albeit temporary, allows venues where tokenized securities trade to operate without fear of punishment so long as they abide by certain conditions. For example, before a trading venue can allow a tokenized stock to trade, it has to give the issuing company 30 days notice and the “ability to object.”

–Crystal Kim

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 04:01 PM GMT

Information Technology Leads S&P 500 Sector Advances

Tech shares are helping give the S&P 500 a nice boost Thursday.

The S&P 500 Information Technology Sector is up 2.1% to pace the 11 industries tracked by the benchmark index.

Intel (INTC) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) are leading the sector with advances of more than 9%.

Nine of the 11 sectors are in the green. The S&P 500 is up 0.6% overall.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 01:50 PM GMT

Generac Stock Soars on $8B Deal to Sell Amazon Generators to Power Data Centers

Shares of Generac are surging after the energy hardware maker announced a multi-billion dollar deal with Amazon.

Generac (GNRC) shares were up over 25% in recent trading after the company said that it has agreed to sell Amazon (AMZN) up to $8 billion worth of generators. The generators will provide backup power for Amazon’s growing network of data centers, with $2.4 billion of the generators expected to be delivered over the next two years. Amazon shares rose about 2%.

The deal also includes a warrant for Amazon to purchase up to 1.69 million shares of Generac at just over $200, a premium of about 15% to Generac’s Wednesday close of $175 and worth about $340 million in total. Just under 308,000 of the warrant’s shares became exercisable upon signing, with the rest unlocking in stages over the next seven years contingent on payments for the generators.

“This is a massive win for Generac and provides clarity regarding the demand underpinning management’s recently announced plan to triple manufacturing capacity for large-format generators by August 2027,” William Blair analysts wrote following the announcement.

With Thursday’s gains, Generac shares are up more than 60% since the year began. Amazon shares have added 9% in 2026 so far.

–Aaron McDade

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 01:12 PM GMT

Gas Prices Rise, Diesel Sets New Record High

A big increase in fuel prices owing to the Iran war has been a primary reason for high inflation, and those prices continue to rise.

The average price of gas sits at about $4.44 per gallon today, per the American Automobile Association, while diesel has climbed to another new record high of nearly $6.40.

Regular gas prices have risen 28 cents over the past month, and more than $1.20 in the last year.

Shipping companies are already warning that record-high diesel prices will eat into their profit margins this year if they remain at their current levels, while high gas prices and other rising costs could also have a significant impact on how voters feel about the economy heading into November’s midterm elections.

–Aaron McDade

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 12:34 PM GMT

Carney Welcomes Idea of Canada Becoming EU Associate Member

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday told the European Parliament that he was open to the idea of Canada becoming the European Union’s first “associate member,” an idea that the bloc’s president announced in an annual speech yesterday.

Carney said Canada would “welcome this ambition,” with his office saying that he met with several European officials on Wednesday to discuss “work underway to deepen the Canada-European Union (EU) partnership in key areas.”

President Donald Trump attacked the idea in comments to reporters yesterday, and said the U.S. could interpret the offer as a “hostile act” and levy additional tariffs against Europe, or cut off trade entirely.

–Aaron McDade

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 12:03 PM GMT

Nokia Stock Surges on ‘Agentic, Unified Data Foundation’ Partnership With Microsoft

Early Thursday, Nokia said it has expanded its partnership with Microsoft. Shareholders are reacting positively before the bell.

U.S.-listed shares of Nokia (NOK) are surging 5% in premarket trading after the Finnish company said it and Microsoft are developing “an agentic, unified data foundation that supports faster, more reliable AI-driven operations for telecommunication providers.”

The partnership “combines Nokia Data Suite’s ready-to-use telco data products with Microsoft Fabric’s unified analytics, governance and AI capabilities, enabling intelligent, agent-based solutions across the network stack,” Nokia said.

The companies previously had collaborated on cloud, data, AI, and cybersecurity initiatives.

U.S.-listed shares of Nokia entered Thursday up 57% since the start of the year.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 11:30 AM GMT

Meta Event Next Week Could Spark Stock Gains, Says Citi

Meta’s upcoming developers conference could fuel some fresh enthusiasm for the stock, according to one Wall Street bull.

Analysts at Citi said they view the Meta Connect event next week as a near-term catalyst for price gains in a note to clients Wednesday, anticipating the company could give significant updates on its AI strategy.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to give a keynote address at 7 p.m. ET next Wednesday (which will stream live here), with developer-focused events on Thursday.

The Citi analysts called Meta one of their favorite names to own across the internet sector, citing Meta’s recent model and product releases. They said they were impressed by the early download numbers and new AI use cases created by Meta’s Muse personal AI agent announced last week.

Read the full article here.

–Aaron McDade

SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 AT 10:56 AM GMT

Stock Futures Gain as Treasury Yields Fall Below 5% After Fed Raises Rates

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%.

S&P 500 futures advanced 0.8%.

Nasdaq 100 futures pointed up 1.1%.

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