S&P 500 rises 1.06% to 7,747.71 as Waller signals a September Fed hold
S&P 500 close: 7,747.71 (+1.06%) Breadth: 8 of 11 sector ETFs higher Sentiment: bullish
The S&P 500 closed at 7,747.71 on 3 September 2026, up 1.06%, after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he would be inclined to support holding the funds rate steady this month, cutting September hike odds on CME FedWatch from 63.2% to 50.4%. MSTR.US rose 17.56% to $144.82, the largest move among names above $2 billion in market value, as bitcoin cleared $80,000 for the first time in three months. The 10-year Treasury yield eased about 3 basis points to 4.76%, the dollar index fell 0.61% to 98.99, and gold gained 2.39% to US$4,520.
What moved the index
Technology alone accounts for roughly 47 of the 106 basis points the S&P 500 added on 3 September 2026.
- Technology (~37% index weight): XLK.US +1.29%, worth about 47 bps. MSFT.US +2.68%, ORCL.US +5.69%, PLTR.US +7.71%, CRM.US +2.92%. Lower yields lifted the highest-multiple names hardest. AVGO.US fell 2.74% on Wednesday's Q4 revenue guide of $34.8 billion against the $35.03 billion expected.
- Financials (~12% weight): XLF.US +1.56%, worth about 19 bps. JPM.US +1.64% and MS.US +2.52%. Crypto-linked brokers gained more: HOOD.US +16.57%, COIN.US +10.14%.
- Consumer discretionary (~11% weight): XLY.US +1.39%, worth about 16 bps. TSLA.US +5.42% into its Austin Cybercab launch event, the company's first vehicle built without a steering wheel or pedals.
- Energy, staples and materials: XLE.US -0.74%, XLB.US -0.62%, XLP.US -0.32%, together about 4 bps against the index. TSN.US -7.26% and CPB.US -6.96% both cut guidance.
Industrials (+9 bps) and communication services (+8 bps) take the total to roughly 101 of the 106 bps move. The 5 bp residual reflects the capped sector ETFs used here against uncapped GICS weights.
Session highlights
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 624.16 points to 53,686.11 on 3 September 2026, its strongest session since 4 August.
- ^VIX fell 5.79% to 14.32 and ES=F held +0.95% into the evening session at 7,749.25.
- ^RUT gained 0.51% against the S&P 500's 1.06%. Large caps did the work, and small caps finished 55 basis points behind.
- ISM services printed 55.4 for August against 54.1 in July, with new orders at 60.9 and the prices index up 2.3 points to 72.6. The employment component stayed contractionary at 47.8.
- Initial jobless claims rose 2,000 to 206,000, or 1,000 above the 205,000 forecast.
- GC=F +2.39% to US$4,520.30 and the yen +2% to 155.47, both tracking the 0.61% fall in the dollar index to 98.99.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Financials, XLF.US +1.56%
- Worst: Energy, XLE.US -0.74%
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 2.30 points
- Energy fell while crude rose: CL=F +0.73% to $91.67. Oilfield services and coal names fell hardest: BTU.US -6.08%, HP.US -5.50%, PTEN.US -4.56%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| MSTR.US | +17.56% | Bitcoin +6.02% to $81,921, a three-month high |
| SMMT.US | +17.33% | Akeso Phase III HARMONi-2 beat Keytruda on interim survival |
| HOOD.US | +16.57% | Crypto volumes plus a Morgan Stanley target raise to $150 |
| SNOW.US | +16.55% | FY27 product revenue guide lifted to $6.07bn from $5.84bn |
| CRCL.US | +16.46% | No company announcement, moved with bitcoin's 6.02% gain |
| RARE.US | -44.03% | Phase 3 Aspire missed its Bayley-4 primary in Angelman syndrome |
| PSQL.US | -20.02% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| VSXY.US | -13.17% | Q2 EPS $0.95 beat, but Q3 operating income guided below |
| CIEN.US | -10.36% | Q4 revenue guide of $1.75bn only matched consensus |
| PL.US | -8.20% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
After-hours earnings
Samsara reported adjusted EPS of $0.20 against a $0.16 consensus after the 3 September close, and IOT.US traded 13% higher after the bell.
- IOT.US revenue reached $508.4 million against $483.3 million expected, up 30%, with annual recurring revenue of $2.125 billion. FY27 revenue guidance of $2.043 billion to $2.047 billion implies 26% growth.
- ZS.US posted Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.19 against $1.09 expected on revenue of $898 million, and guided FY27 adjusted EPS to $4.86 to $4.90 against a $4.60 consensus. Shares rose about 2.4% after hours.
- DOCU.US reported Q2 FY27 and traded about 2% higher after the bell.
Notable announcements
- NVDA.US agreed to buy Hugging Face for about $12.93 billion, split between roughly $11.9 billion to stockholders and up to $1.0 billion in retention equity. Closing is expected in the first half of 2027.
- TSN.US cut FY26 adjusted operating income guidance to $1.85bn to $2.05bn from $2.1bn to $2.3bn, with a beef segment loss of $625 million to $775 million on high cattle prices.
- CPB.US guided FY27 EPS to $1.65 to $1.80 against a $1.83 consensus, cut its dividend, and reported a fourth straight quarter of falling sales.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Fri 4 Sep 08:30 August employment situation. July payrolls fell 23,000 with unemployment at 4.1% and the prior two months revised down by a combined 103,000.
- Fri 4 Sep 09:30 Cash open, with ES=F at 7,749.25 and NQ=F at 29,502.25 after the close.
- Fri 4 Sep First full session for IOT.US, ZS.US and DOCU.US after Thursday's reports.
- Over the next two weeks The inflation and labor prints Waller named as the condition for his September vote.
Context only, not financial advice. Track your own trades with Swingfolio.