S&P 500 Falls 0.45% as the Fed Hikes for the First Time in Three Years
S&P 500 close: 7,551.81 (-0.45%) Sentiment: bearish
The S&P 500 fell 0.45% to 7,551.81 on September 16, 2026, after the Federal Reserve raised rates 25 basis points to a 3.75% to 4% range and its projections showed one more hike this year. JBHT.US lost 13.30% to $236.73 after J.B. Hunt warned third-quarter earnings would fall 5% to 10% from the second quarter on fuel and driver costs. The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.006%, and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said "inflation is too high and has been for too long."
At a glance
- S&P 500: 7,551.81, down 33.92 points (-0.45%)
- Nasdaq Composite: 25,978.42, down 3.15 points (-0.01%)
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 51,461.90, down 631.21 points (-1.21%)
- Russell 2000: 2,858.81 (-0.40%)
- VIX: 17.71 (+2.97%)
- US 10-year yield: 5.006% (+1 bp)
- US Dollar Index: 100.32 (+0.71%)
What moved the index
Bank, energy and rate-sensitive shares account for about 42 of the S&P 500's 45-basis-point decline on September 16, 2026, after the Fed's unanimous hike, its first increase in three years.
- Financials: XLF -1.62%, worth about 21 bps of the 45 bps index move. GS.US fell 3.96%, WFC.US 2.98%, BAC.US 2.72% and JPM.US 1.01% after the projections showed another hike before year end. The State Street SPDR S&P Bank ETF lost 1.72%.
- Energy: XLE -2.88%, worth about 9 bps. WTI crude fell 3.60% to $102.02 a barrel after the American Petroleum Institute reported a 7.1 million barrel stockpile build and OPEC and the IEA both cut 2026 demand growth forecasts. XOM.US lost 3.54%, OXY.US 6.55% and FANG.US 8.03%.
- Communication services and consumer discretionary: XLC -0.90% and XLY -0.63%, together worth about 15 bps. MSFT.US fell 1.37% and AMZN.US 0.99% with the 10-year yield above 5%.
- Technology offset: XLK +0.10%, adding back about 3 bps as optical and chip names rebounded. INTC.US gained 4.03% and LITE.US 9.59%.
Together, financials, energy, communication services and consumer discretionary account for about 45 bps of drag; net of the 3 bps technology added back, the drivers explain about 42 bps of the 45 bps index decline. Staples, materials and real estate, each down between 0.48% and 0.73%, cover the small residual.
Session highlights
- 51,461.90 was the Dow's close, down 1.21% and more than twice the S&P 500's percentage decline; GS.US led the price-weighted average lower. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.01% as chipmakers and optical suppliers offset software and internet names.
- LITE.US rose 9.59% to $919.40 after Evercore ISI started coverage at Outperform with a $1,100 target; AXTI.US and SMTC.US each gained more than 11%.
- CRCL.US fell 6.78% and HOOD.US 5.46% after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed a Senate cloture vote, 50 to 49 against the 60 needed.
- August retail sales rose 1.2%, above the 0.9% consensus and up from a 0.5% decline in July.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Technology (XLK +0.10%)
- Worst: Energy (XLE -2.88%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 2.98 pts
- Health care (XLV +0.07%) and utilities (XLU 0.00%) were the only other sectors not lower. Financials (XLF -1.62%) had the second-worst session, and communication services (XLC -0.90%) ranked third-worst.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| EMAT.US | +14.80% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| AXTI.US | +11.44% | Optical supplier rebound alongside LITE.US +9.59%. |
| ARQT.US | +11.19% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| FPS.US | +11.10% | Unannounced; follows a 9.50% jump on fiscal Q4 results. |
| SMTC.US | +11.03% | Record Q2 revenue of $341.9M; new SurgeSwitch launch. |
| ALHC.US | -16.01% | Q3 medical cost headwinds; law firm probe opened. |
| JBHT.US | -13.30% | Q3 earnings warning on fuel and driver costs. |
| BULL.US | -11.20% | Fell with crypto-linked brokers after the Clarity Act vote. |
| PLSE.US | -10.13% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| BLSH.US | -9.53% | Crypto exchange fell after the failed Clarity Act vote. |
After-hours earnings
Lennar (LEN.US) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $1.19 per diluted share after the close, below the $1.30 consensus and down from $2.29 a year earlier. Shares were about 2.8% lower in after-hours trading. The homebuilder said the 30-year mortgage rate was about 6.8% at quarter end and has risen since.
Notable announcements
- JBHT.US flagged a $10M sequential fuel cost increase and $25M in added driver recruitment and training costs for Q3, speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference.
- ALHC.US extended its slide after management at a Baird healthcare conference said hospital costs stayed high into August and declined to discuss Medicare star ratings.
- ON.US fell 9.02% to $66.60. Unannounced, likely flow-driven.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Thu 8:30am: Initial jobless claims for the week ended September 12
- Thu 8:30am: Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey for September
- Thu: August housing starts
- Thu: FedEx, Nike and Darden Restaurants report quarterly results
- Thu 9:30am: Cash open with the 10-year yield at 5.006% and the Fed projecting one more 2026 hike
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