S&P 500 flat at 7,764.64 as Meta's Muse AI agent splits the market
S&P 500 close: 7,764.64 (-0.00%) Breadth: 127 advancers, 122 decliners across the 250 largest US names Sentiment: mixed
The S&P 500 closed at 7,764.64 on 22 September 2026, down 0.06 points or 0.00%, as a rally in AI hardware cancelled out a 1.97% fall in financials triggered by Meta's Muse personal AI agent. VKTX.US rose 35.67% to $40.85 after its VK2735 obesity candidate produced 22% average weight reduction at week 33. WTI crude fell 2.73% to $89.85 on reports Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, its fifth straight decline.
What moved the index
- Technology (XLK +0.73%, about 34% of the index) added roughly 25 bps. Memory and storage led: SNDK.US +6.82%, KXIAY.US +7.71%, MU.US +5.00%, STX.US +4.85%, WDC.US +3.67%. Investors read Muse reaching the top of Apple's App Store as a lift to consumer AI compute demand.
- Financials (XLF -1.97%, about 13%) cost roughly 26 bps. SCHW.US -6.11%, LPLA.US -7.45%, WFC.US -3.92%, JPM.US -3.42%, BAC.US -3.04%, ALL.US -5.50%. The S&P 500 Financials Index closed at its lowest level since July. A 10-year Treasury yield of 4.97% against a 10s2s spread of 0.2% pressured net interest margin expectations.
- Communication Services (XLC -1.06%, about 10%) cost roughly 11 bps. GOOGL.US -1.07%, META.US -0.63% after Monday's 11% gain, NYT.US -7.20%.
- Energy (XLE -1.09%, about 3%) cost roughly 3 bps on the crude move. VLO.US -4.10%, MPC.US -3.16%.
Those four account for about -15 bps of index drag. Materials (+1.65%), Consumer Staples (+0.99%) and Health Care (+0.52%) added back roughly 13 bps, which is why the index finished within a tenth of a point of Monday's close.
Session highlights
- SCHW.US -6.11% to $100.35 led the sell-off in businesses that earn from customer habit. Muse can compare, switch and buy on a user's behalf, and investors marked down what that habit is worth.
- ADBE.US -4.52%, INTU.US -3.87%, CSCO.US -4.50%, DELL.US -4.59%, GDDY.US -6.23%, DBX.US -5.86% and GEN.US -6.38% extended the same repricing into subscription and enterprise software.
- SHOP.US +7.12% to $147.74 gained on the same catalyst, after Meta named Shopify a Muse commerce partner.
- RCL.US -6.14%, VIK.US -5.85% and ALL.US -5.50% fell on the same logic applied to cruise bookings and insurance renewals.
- VICR.US +19.85% to $268.34 after the company guided third-quarter revenue to more than 20% sequential growth and signed a non-exclusive licence for its vertical power delivery patents. MPWR.US +8.06% and RMBS.US +8.54% moved with it.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Materials +1.65%
- Worst: Financials -1.97%
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.62 pts
- Technology closed +0.73% with the widest internal spread: 6 memory and storage names gained between 3.45% and 7.71%, while 5 software and hardware names fell between 3.87% and 6.38%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| VKTX.US | +35.67% | VK2735 held 22% average weight loss to week 33 |
| BFLY.US | +21.99% | Needham started coverage at Buy, $10 target |
| VICR.US | +19.85% | Guided Q3 revenue to 20%+ sequential growth |
| INOD.US | +14.61% | Named ex-NSA director Michael Rogers to its board |
| TNGX.US | +14.33% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| XNDU.US | -21.57% | Six-month IPO lockup expired today |
| CLDX.US | -11.56% | Two probable Grade 4 anaphylaxis cases in Phase 3 safety data |
| PLNT.US | -9.46% | VKTX.US readout revived the GLP-1 threat to gym membership |
| NKTR.US | -8.78% | Jury still deliberating in the Eli Lilly Rezpeg dispute |
| LPLA.US | -7.45% | Muse repricing hit the independent advisor platform |
After-hours earnings
KBH.US reported third-quarter results at 4:10pm ET and slid 2.7% after the close. Diluted EPS of $1.05 beat the $0.89 consensus, revenue of $1.30 billion landed in line but fell 20% year on year, and full-year revenue guidance of about $5 billion came in roughly 2% under what analysts carried. Executive Chairman Jeffrey Mezger said conditions have weakened since the June report, with higher mortgage rates pressuring affordability.
AZO.US reported before the bell rather than after it, and closed up 8.34% at $133.94 on fourth-quarter EPS of $56.05 against $48.71 a year earlier, with net sales up 5.6% to $6.6 billion. ORLY.US +3.55% moved with it.
Notable announcements
- JPMorgan Asset Management and the Qatar Investment Authority formed a $20 billion investment partnership covering a global public equities mandate and senior financing for US middle-market companies. JPM.US still closed -3.42%.
- Goldman Sachs is in talks to acquire the $37 billion credit manager Palmer Square. GS.US closed -1.03%.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described preliminary US and China trade discussions as very successful ahead of the Trump and Xi meeting.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Wed 09:30: US cash open; ES=F closed the session at 7,827.75 (-0.07%), NQ=F at 31,002.00 (+0.71%)
- Wed, pre-market: KBH.US first full session on the third-quarter print and the trimmed full-year guide
- Wed: Crude inventories, with WTI at $89.85 after five straight declines
- Thu: Weekly jobless claims, against a 10-year Treasury yield of 4.97%
Context only, not financial advice. Track your own trades with Swingfolio.