S&P 500 falls 0.75% as the 10-year yield hits a 2007 high
S&P 500 close: 7,706.03 (-0.75%) US 10-year: 5.11% (+15 bps) Sentiment: bearish
The S&P 500 closed at 7,706.03 on 23 September 2026, down 0.75%, after flash US PMI data came in hot enough to revive rate-hike bets and pushed the 10-year Treasury yield 15 basis points higher to 5.11%, its highest since July 2007. Alphabet GOOGL.US fell 3.80%, the largest single-name drag on the index, as positioning rotated toward Meta META.US (+1.02%) on its Muse AI assistant. The Federal Reserve raised its policy rate a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.00% on 16 September, its first increase since 2023, and today's composite PMI print reached a five-year high.
What moved the index
- Consumer discretionary: XLY -1.50% across a roughly 10.5% index weight, worth about 16 bps of the 75 bps decline. Meta's Muse agent books flights and hotels without visiting an aggregator, and the booking names repriced on it: EXPE.US -7.72%, ABNB.US -7.56%, BKNG.US -5.07%. MCD.US -4.81% and AMZN.US -2.24% added to the drag.
- Technology: AVGO.US -2.62%, ORCL.US -3.11%, MU.US -2.22% and NVDA.US -1.47% took XLK to -0.47%, about 16 bps against a 33% index weight. Four cybersecurity names cut that loss roughly in half: PANW.US +5.00%, CRWD.US +4.97%, OKTA.US +4.45%, FTNT.US +2.57%.
- Alphabet: GOOGL.US -3.80% supplied nearly all of the 9 bps that communication services cost the index. META.US +1.02% pulled the other way, holding XLC to -0.85%.
- Rate-sensitive sectors: the 5-year Treasury yield reached 5.00% after a weak auction, its first 5% print since 2007. Utilities XLU -1.92% and real estate XLRE -1.55% cost about 8 bps on a combined 4.4% weight.
- Offsetting: energy XLE +0.96% added about 3 bps as WTI CL=F rose 2.42% to US$92.71 and Brent BZ=F gained 3.09% to US$98.36.
Together these account for about 46 bps of the 75 bps index move. The residual is broad: financials XLF -0.47% and health care XLV -0.64% contributed roughly 6 bps each, and the Russell 2000 fell 1.77% to 2,838.66, the worst of the major indices.
Session highlights
- 10-year Treasury yield 5.11%, up 15 bps, the largest one-day move in about 18 months. The 2-year reached 4.93%.
- Flash US composite PMI printed 58.4 in September against 56.0 in August, the highest since July 2021. Services reached 58.7 from 56.5 and manufacturing reached 56.7.
- VIX 15.18, up 6.83%, below the 20 level. TLT -1.58% and IWM -1.84% put the move in duration and small caps; credit held up, with HYG -0.72%.
- PAYX.US -8.77% after fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings of $1.34 beat the $1.32 estimate on revenue of $1.63 billion. Guidance and lower operating cash flow drove the reaction.
- Gold GC=F -1.23% to US$4,322.70 and silver SI=F -2.40% to US$64.93 as the dollar index rose 0.53% to 101.14. Miners fell harder: WPM.US -5.44%, AEM.US -3.92%, SBSW.US -7.54%, NEM.US -2.92%.
Sector scorecard
- Best: energy (+0.96%)
- Worst: utilities (-1.92%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 2.88 pts
- Technology finished -0.47% with the widest internal split: four cybersecurity names gained 2.57% or more while four semiconductor and software names lost 1.47% or more.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| FSLY.US | +13.69% | Published testing put it at 29.3% of Meta Muse traffic |
| SECZ.US | +10.46% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| ACMR.US | +6.42% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| KVYO.US | +5.73% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| VICR.US | +5.52% | Non-exclusive AI licensing deal, raised Q3 royalty outlook |
| VOYG.US | -16.33% | $350 million convertible senior notes offering due 2032 |
| PBLS.US | -12.73% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| EXK.US | -11.89% | Mechanical outage at a mine, with silver -2.40% |
| ERAS.US | -10.32% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| SRPT.US | -8.94% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
After-hours earnings
SFIX.US closed the regular session down 5.69% at $2.82 and fell about 17% after the bell on fiscal Q4 results, where an earnings beat was paired with a forward revenue outlook below estimates. CTAS.US reported fiscal Q1 before the open, crossing $3 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time on 10.9% year-over-year growth and 8.9% organic growth, and closed down 3.44%. Micron MU.US reports on 30 September, not this session; it closed -2.22% at $1,071.88.
Notable announcements
- Alphabet faces a fresh EU fine of about $1 billion for Digital Markets Act breaches, alongside Reddit moving to restrict Google AI training access.
- A 5-year Treasury auction drew poor demand, adding roughly 19 bps to that maturity on the day.
- Saudi Arabia is preparing to restart exports through its East to West pipeline, which would bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
- Z.US -7.43% as the 10-year yield move hit housing-linked names.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Thu 24 Sep, before the open: JBL.US fiscal Q4 results.
- Thu 24 Sep 08:30: weekly initial jobless claims, the next read on the labour market after the PMI surprise.
- Thu 24 Sep 10:00: August new home sales, against a 10-year yield at 5.11%.
- Wed 30 Sep, after the close: MU.US fiscal Q4 results.
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