US Close 9 October 2026: S&P 500 +0.59% as Software Recovers; TMUS.US -13.27%, CCI.US +15.60% on SpaceX Spectrum Deal
The S&P 500 closed at 7,811.54 on 9 October 2026, up 46.18 points or 0.59%, ending a two-day decline as software and cloud names recovered from Thursday's OpenAI revenue report: MSFT.US rose 2.38%, AMZN.US 3.29% and ORCL.US 4.59%. TMUS.US fell 13.27%, T.US 9.81% and VZ.US 8.75% after SpaceX agreed to buy up to 14 MHz of 800 MHz spectrum from Grain Management for its Starlink Mobile service, while tower owner CCI.US rose 15.60%. The University of Michigan's preliminary October sentiment index fell to 46.3 from 48.1, below a 47.6 forecast, and the 10-year Treasury yield rose 1.3 bps to 5.244%.
At a glance
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,811.54 | +0.59% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 27,366.17 | +0.64% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 51,654.95 | +0.83% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,806.98 | +0.46% |
| VIX | 14.84 | -3.70% |
US 10-year yield 5.244% at the close, up 1.3 bps. US Dollar Index 102.23, up 0.09%. Brent settled at $104.72, up 0.42%, and WTI at $91.85, up 0.39%, per Reuters. Gold futures $4,220.30, up 1.52%. Bitcoin $82,494, up 1.04%.
For the week, the Dow gained 1.15%, the S&P 500 0.95% and the Nasdaq 0.19%, while the Russell 2000 lost 0.91%, per TheStreet.
What moved the index
The S&P 500 gained 59 bps on 9 October 2026; software and cloud stocks, health insurers and financials account for most of it, while the three wireless carriers and AAPL.US subtracted about 16 bps.
| Driver | Move | Approx. index weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT.US, AMZN.US, ORCL.US | +2.38%, +3.29%, +4.59% | about 11% combined | about +30 bps |
| Health care (XLV.US) | +1.58% | about 9% | about +14 bps |
| Financials (XLF.US) | +0.92% | about 13% | about +12 bps |
| Real estate (XLRE.US) | +1.86% | about 2% | about +4 bps |
| TMUS.US, T.US, VZ.US | -13.27%, -9.81%, -8.75% | about 1% combined | about -9 bps |
| AAPL.US | -1.11% | about 6.5% | about -7 bps |
- $8 billion in cash is the price for the Grain Management spectrum, per The Wall Street Journal as cited by Wireless Estimator; SpaceX did not disclose terms. VZ.US had its worst day since July 2002, and TMUS.US and T.US their worst since 2013 and 2000, per CNBC. JPMorgan analysts wrote that they see "limited near-term risk" to the carriers given the time and capital needed to build a ground network, per CNBC.
- CCI.US +15.60%, AMT.US +9.30% and SBAC.US +7.34% as Bernstein said the purchase makes a SpaceX ground network "more credible" and less expensive, a build that would need tower space, per Wireless Estimator. XLRE.US closed 1.86% higher, the best of the 11 sector funds.
- AMZN.US +3.29% and MSFT.US +2.38% led a recovery in AI-exposed software after Thursday's 1.25% Nasdaq drop, per CNBC. ZS.US rose 7.80%, SNOW.US 7.42% and DDOG.US 7.11%; chips lagged, with SMH.US 0.65% lower and NVDA.US down 0.52%.
- HUM.US +11.56% to $431.87 after CMS restored its largest Medicare Advantage contract, H5216, to 4 stars from 3.5, per TheStreet. ELV.US gained 2.93% and UNH.US 2.25%; CVS.US fell 1.87% after a star-ratings setback, per TheStreet.
Together these drivers account for about 44 bps of the 59 bps gain; the residual reflects consumer discretionary (XLY.US +1.02%, TSLA.US +2.05%) and industrials (XLI.US +0.50%).
Session highlights
46.3 was the University of Michigan's preliminary October consumer sentiment reading on 9 October 2026, the lowest since May, against 48.1 in September; the current conditions index fell 12.2% to 44.7, per CNBC.
- 7,782.33 to 7,818.48 was the S&P 500's range on Yahoo's hourly series; the index held above Thursday's 7,765.36 close all session.
- DAL.US closed 0.04% higher at $82.17 after third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.72 missed a $1.75 LSEG estimate and Delta cut its 2026 outlook; the shares had traded 4% lower before the open, per CNBC.
- 62.9% of US Gulf of Mexico oil output, about 1.3 million barrels a day, was shut in as of Thursday for Hurricane Isaias, per the Marine Minerals Administration via Reuters. Brent gained 0.42% after trading lower earlier, when President Trump called talks with Iran "productive," per Reuters.
- HPQ.US -6.91% after IDC data showed third-quarter global PC shipments fell 20.1% from a year earlier and HP's fell nearly 31%, per Investing.com.
- DE.US -4.85% and CNH.US -6.10% after the USDA's October crop report sent corn and soybean futures lower, per Investing.com.
- SWKS.US -5.45% and CRUS.US -5.59% as AAPL.US fell 1.11% on a Nikkei Asia report that Apple cut October iPhone 18 Pro component orders by at least 15%.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Real estate (XLRE.US +1.86%)
- Worst: Communication services (XLC.US -1.51%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.37 pts
- 9 of 11 sector funds closed higher; communication services and energy (XLE.US -0.25%) fell. Biotech led health care, with XBI.US up 3.00%.
Top movers
Top movers among US stocks above $2 billion in market value on 9 October 2026, ranked by Yahoo closing change.
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| FSLY.US | +15.86% | Oppenheimer upgrade to Outperform |
| CCI.US | +15.60% | SpaceX spectrum deal points to a possible new tower tenant |
| MRNA.US | +14.21% | Rejoined the Nasdaq-100 before the open |
| HUM.US | +11.56% | Largest Medicare Advantage contract restored to 4 stars |
| AUGO.US | +10.63% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| TMUS.US | -13.27% | SpaceX buys 800 MHz spectrum for Starlink Mobile |
| ASTS.US | -10.48% | SpaceX deal removes the Grain low-band option, per Yahoo Finance |
| T.US | -9.81% | Worst day since 2000 on the SpaceX deal, per CNBC |
| TIGO.US | -9.63% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| VZ.US | -8.75% | Worst day since July 2002, per CNBC |
After-hours earnings
No company above $2 billion in market value reported after the close on 9 October 2026; StockAnalysis's after-hours leaders and laggards were all below $600 million in market value.
- HUM.US extended Thursday evening's star-ratings move into the regular session and closed 11.56% higher; Thursday's close brief covered the after-hours reaction to the CMS release.
Notable announcements
- SpaceX agreed to acquire up to 14 MHz of paired 800 MHz spectrum from Grain Management; FCC Chair Brendan Carr told CNBC that competition in spectrum is "really good news for the American consumers."
- MRNA.US rejoined the Nasdaq-100 before the open on 9 October 2026.
- PLNT.US rose 8.97% after UBS reiterated its rating and cited strengthening member demand, per StockStory.
- ZS.US rose 7.80% after reaffirming fiscal first-quarter guidance and announcing an IBM and Red Hat integration, per 24/7 Wall St.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Monday 12 October: Stocks trade regular hours; the bond market is closed for Columbus Day, per TheStreet.
- Tuesday 13 October: Bank earnings begin, with WFC.US and C.US reporting alongside JNJ.US and UNH.US, per CNBC.
- Wednesday 14 October: September CPI report, per TheStreet.
- Isaias: the Category 3 hurricane was forecast to make landfall late Friday near the Alabama and Florida line, per the National Hurricane Center via TheStreet.
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