Crude benchmarks retreated from the $100‑per‑barrel threshold on Friday, easing after reports that the United States and Iran were negotiating a phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The price decline came despite lingering concerns over Saudi Arabia’s supply capacity, which continues to weigh on market sentiment.
U.S. equity indices posted modest gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to close at 7,741.83, up 1.2% for the week and sitting about 0.7% below its recent record close. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.5% to finish at 27,068.72, marking a 2.1% weekly advance and reaching fresh highs not seen since early June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9% to 51,828.59, up 0.3% for the week.
Among individual stocks, Meta Platforms saw its shares surge more than 30% for the month and nearly 14% for the week after launching its personal AI agent, Muse, on September 8. Muse quickly rose to the top of Apple’s App Store free‑app list. Akamai Technologies jumped 3.2% after securing an $11.6 billion cloud‑service contract with Anthropic, the creator of the Claude AI model. Costco reported higher profit and sales in its fiscal fourth quarter, lifting the retailer’s stock by 2.9%. All members of the so‑called Magnificent Seven index, except Amazon, posted gains in September.
U.S. Treasury yields continued their ascent, with the 10‑year note breaking above 5% – its highest level since June 2007 – and the 30‑year bond reaching its peak since June 2004. The CME FedWatch Tool indicated a 64% probability that the Federal Reserve will raise its policy rate by a quarter‑point at the October meeting, up from roughly 58% a week earlier. The proportion of stocks trading above their 50‑day moving average fell to about 26%, suggesting broad‑based selling pressure.
Geopolitical developments centered on renewed diplomatic overtures between Washington and Tehran. Delegations at the United Nations General Assembly in New York discussed a potential phased deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a claim later confirmed by President Donald Trump. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the talks as a continuation of prior conversations rather than a breakthrough, while Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei outlined conditions for any agreement through Qatari mediation. U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue warned China against supporting Iran, reiterating President Trump’s stance. The diplomatic backdrop was further highlighted by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to the United States since 2015.
"The S&P 500 has remained remarkably resilient in the face of mounting macro headwinds," said Adam Turnquist, chief cross‑asset strategist at LPL Financial. "Much of that resilience can be attributed to the resurgence of mega‑cap stocks, which have powered the index back toward record‑high territory." Truist chief investment officer Keith Lerner added that the market’s recent pullback offers an opportunity, noting that lower valuations and higher yields are restoring meaningful income prospects for investors.
