Daily News 15th Sep 26
Daily News
S&P 500 and Nasdaq Slide as 10-Year Treasury Yield Tops 5%, Highest Since 2007; Gold Hovers Near Five-Week Lows Around $4,300; Crude Climbs Toward $103 on Hormuz Supply Fears
15 September 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.6% while the Topix slipped 0.11%; South Korea's Kospi fell 0.25% while the small-cap Kosdaq added 1.78%; Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7%; and Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.3% as the mainland's CSI 300 slid 0.18%, with AI-related names weighed down after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slower pace on AI development and OpenAI's Sam Altman ruled out an IPO this year. U.S. stocks slid Monday — the S&P 500 lost 0.48% to 7,619.98, the Nasdaq fell 0.56% to 26,186.41, and the Dow dropped 152.09 points to 52,421.20 — as the 10-year Treasury yield pushed above 5% for the first time since early 2007, hitting an intraday high of 5.030% amid inflation and fiscal concerns. Gold traded around $4,300 an ounce, hovering near five-week lows, as elevated oil prices strengthened expectations of a Fed rate hike this week, while crude climbed toward $103 a barrel as Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline remained shut following drone attacks and tensions over the Strait of Hormuz persisted.
In other news: China's August retail sales grew just 0.4% year-on-year, missing forecasts, while industrial output topped estimates at 5.2% growth and the investment slump deepened further; President Trump phoned Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on stage at the All-In Summit, calling opposition to AI data centers a "hoax"; Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is open to halting attacks on Russian energy if Russia does the same, appearing to undercut Trump's claim that a deal had already been reached; Elon Musk's X Corp and SpaceXAI resolved their antitrust claims against Apple, though the case against OpenAI continues; Eli Lilly said its oral weight-loss drug Foundayo has captured over 30% of new US patients, narrowing Novo Nordisk's lead; Roblox shares surged nearly 13% after unveiling "Roblox Everywhere," a plan to let creators distribute games as independent apps; and Microsoft unveiled a draft code of conduct requiring its AI to remain under human control, declaring that "people matter more than AI."
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.6%, while the Topix lost 0.11%. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.25%, and the small-cap Kosdaq added 1.78%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.7%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.3%, while the mainland's CSI 300 slid 0.18%. A sell-off in artificial intelligence-related names has weighed down the stock market after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slower pace on AI development. Over the weekend, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also ruled out an initial public offering this year, pointing to growing worries around AI safety.
Stocks slide to begin week as 10-year yield briefly touches 5%, oil rises
The S&P 500 fell on Monday as investors monitored a major shakeup in the pipeline for artificial intelligence initial public offerings amid growing safety concerns, as well as the latest moves in Treasury yields and oil. The broad market index lost 0.48% and closed at 7,619.98, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.56% to 26,186.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 152.09 points, or 0.29%, to end at 52,421.20. At their lows of the day, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively, while the Dow declined almost 300 points, or about 0.6%. Global AI-related stocks fell after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown of the development of AI capabilities, with other major tech figures backing the proposal.
Gold traded around $4,300 an ounce on Tuesday, hovering near five-week lows
Gold traded around $4,300 an ounce on Tuesday, hovering near five-week lows as elevated oil prices strengthened expectations for a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike this week. Oil prices extended their gains as Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline remained shut, while Ukraine disputed President Trump's claim that it had already reached an agreement with Russia to halt attacks on energy infrastructure. Rising energy prices fuelled inflation concerns and increased pressure on the Fed to tighten policy, with markets currently pricing in roughly a 92% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike on Wednesday. The US 10-year Treasury yield also climbed toward 5% amid inflation and fiscal concerns, adding further pressure on non-yielding bullion.
Crude oil climbed toward $103 per barrel on Tuesday following a volatile start to the week
Crude oil climbed toward $103 per barrel on Tuesday following a volatile start to the week, as investors continued to navigate heightened uncertainty over global supply. Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, which provides an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, remains shut following drone attacks, with no clear indication of when operations will resume. A diplomatic meeting between Iran and the Gulf Arab states to discuss the situation in Hormuz was also abruptly postponed. Meanwhile, Iran claimed that a supertanker attempting to enter a restricted area in Hormuz exploded after striking mines, while maintaining that it would not engage in talks with the US until its demands are met.
China's August retail sales miss forecast while investment slump deepens, piling pressure on Beijing
China's investment slump deepened and retail sales growth slowed further in August, while industrial output topped estimates with authorities warning of acute supply-demand imbalance at home. Retail sales grew 0.4% in August from a year earlier, data from National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday, slowing from 0.6% in the prior month and missing economists' forecast for a 0.8% growth in a Reuters poll. Industrial output expanded 5.2% last month, accelerating from 4.5% growth in July and outperforming economists' expectations for a 4.8% rise. For the first eight months of the year, urban fixed-asset investment, which covers property and infrastructure investment, shrank 7.2% from a year earlier, steepening from 6.7% decline in the January-to-July period, matching analysts' expectations.
U.S. 10-yr Treasury yields rise further above 5%, hit highest level since 2007
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose to their highest level since early-2007 on Tuesday, extending their advance after comfortably breaking above the 5% level this week. The 10-year rate jumped 1.3% to an intraday high of 5.030% and remained close to the level by 01:20 ET (05:20 GMT). The latest surge in yields comes amid increasing confidence that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates by at least 25 basis points in this week. Bets on a hike were furthered by increasing signs of sticky inflation in recent weeks, as price pressures remained well above the Fed's 2% annual target. Concerns over deteriorating U.S. fiscal health– spurred by a growing deficit and rising debt levels– also pointed to traders demanding a higher yield premium to keep buying U.S. debt. The 5% level was viewed as a major psychological threshold for the 10-year benchmark, and could threaten an already strained stock market rally as investors seek higher and safer yields in debt over high-flying equities.
Trump phones Nvidia's Huang at All-In Summit, calls data center opposition a 'hoax'
After using his social media site to blast Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's push for the AI industry to slow down development, President Donald Trump went a step further on Monday. With Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaking on stage at the All-in Summit in Los Angeles, Trump called the tech exec, and was then put on speaker. "I'm telling you, it's all a hoax," Trump said, according to a video posted on social media by an attendee. "The data centers are great, and they make people wealthy, and they make states wealthy." President Trump has inserted himself into the raging debate about artificial intelligence and whether the model developers, principally Anthropic and OpenAI, are rapidly building technology that threatens to destroy humanity.
Ukraine says it's open to halting attacks on Russian energy after Trump's claims of deal
Ukraine is willing to halt attacks on Russian energy targets if Russia agrees to a deal to do the same, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday. But "Ukraine is not convinced that Russia is willing to abide by any agreement," Zelenskyy said in an X post. Zelenskyy's conditional statement undercut a claim about an hour earlier by President Donald Trump, who in a Truth Social post said: "Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!" Trump also claimed, "The World's Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Zelenskyy's post.
Musk's X Corp and SpaceXAI resolve antitrust lawsuit against Apple
Elon Musk's X Corp and SpaceXAI said on Monday they have resolved their claims against Apple in a lawsuit that alleged the iPhone maker conspired with OpenAI to unlawfully monopolize markets for smartphones and generative AI chatbots. In a court filing, X and SpaceXAI, a division of SpaceX, moved to dismiss the claims in a lawsuit they brought against Apple and OpenAI last year. The filing did not explain the reasons for dismissal or say whether a settlement had been reached. The resolution ends a high-profile legal battle between Musk and one of the world's most valuable companies over control of the fast-growing AI chatbot market, though the claims against OpenAI will continue. The lawsuit claimed Apple violated antitrust law by exclusively integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence features on iPhones and other Apple devices. It alleged Apple had illegally shut out rivals in its partnership with OpenAI.
Lilly says Foundayo has captured over 30% of new US patients on oral weight-loss drugs
Eli Lilly on Monday said it has captured more than 30% of new patients in the U.S. market for oral obesity treatments, narrowing the early lead gained by Danish rival Novo Nordisk with its Wegovy pill. Novo CEO Mike Doustdar said in August the company estimated the Wegovy pill had captured about 90% of the country's oral obesity market, despite competition from Lilly's oral treatment, Foundayo. Investors are closely tracking demand for oral obesity drugs, which could expand the weight-loss market by appealing to patients reluctant to use injections and easing some supply challenges associated with injectable therapies. Novo said in January it expects oral drugs to make up more than a third of GLP-1 weight-loss treatment use by 2030.
Roblox stock surged nearly 13% on Monday driven by the market's delayed but forceful reaction to a landmark set of product announcements made at the company's annual developer conference
The company unveiled what it calls "Roblox Everywhere," a strategic initiative designed to dramatically lower the barriers to both playing and creating on the platform. At the heart of the announcement, creators will be able to distribute games built on Roblox as fully independent applications across mobile devices, PCs, and gaming consoles, while players will gain the ability to jump into any experience directly through a web browser without needing to install anything. Roblox also introduced offline play capabilities, persistent cross-game social features, and a suite of AI-powered tools to assist developers — moves widely seen as an effort to broaden the platform's appeal beyond its core younger demographic.
Microsoft drafts code of conduct to keep its AI under human control
Microsoft on Monday unveiled a draft code of conduct for its in-house artificial intelligence that reflects growing industry concern that companies must keep future powerful AI under human control. The document, in the works for five to six months, would require Microsoft's AI to never resist correction or shutdown, to communicate in ways that humans can understand, and to consider any conduct violation to be a failure — an effort to address concerns that AI can go to dangerous lengths to accomplish a task. Its release comes days after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI chief Sam Altman renewed calls for industry to pace AI's development to ensure its safety. "People matter more than AI," Microsoft declared, in line with its prior vision for "humanist superintelligence."
