Stock Market Recap — Sep 30, 2026
Treasury yields hit 24-year high after core inflation undershoots forecasts
Softer inflation gave stocks an early lift, but a late Treasury selloff left the broader market lower. AI demand supported several company-specific catalysts, while widening junk-bond spreads underscored the cost of elevated borrowing rates. • Rates/Equities: Core PCE inflation rose 3.0% from a year earlier, below the 3.3% forecast, and traders reduced bets on an October Fed hike. The 10-year Treasury yield nevertheless reversed course to reach 5.304%, its highest since 2002. The Nasdaq gained 0.24%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.25%. • AI Chips: Micron forecast current-quarter revenue above estimates on AI-driven memory demand. South Korean exports also beat forecasts as semiconductor shipments surged. • AI Infrastructure: Vultr ordered $1.2 billion of AMD server racks with HPE networking gear. Later, the Financial Times reported that Tencent agreed to lease access to about 100,000 AI chips in Oracle data centers; the companies did not confirm the reported valuation. • Credit/Financing: Spreads on CCC-rated bonds widened past 1,000 basis points over Treasuries. Paramount sold more than $42 billion of bonds to finance its Warner Bros. acquisition, leaving the planned combined company with substantial debt. • Power Supply: Amazon agreed to buy up to 690 megawatts from Constellation, while PJM suspended an auction intended to address a regional capacity shortfall.
Intraday Updates
- 02:54 ET: Treasury yields retreat after October Fed hike odds fall (40 stories)
- 07:46 ET: HPE wins $1.2 billion Vultr AI order as AstraZeneca takes $2 billion Summit stake (86 stories)
- 11:56 ET: Nasdaq advances after core PCE inflation undershoots forecasts (100 stories)
- 16:54 ET: Ten-year Treasury yield hits 24-year high as Micron forecasts sales above estimates (90 stories)
- 21:30 ET: South Korean exports surge as CCC bond spreads cross distressed threshold (57 stories)