Today's Recap · Saturday, September 26, 2026
Stocks grind higher while Treasury yields stay near 5%
The major U.S. indexes all finish up, but the move comes with rising yields, a softer VIX, and a split picture across energy, communications, and crude.
The big picture. U.S. stocks close higher across the board. The S&P 500 rises 0.5% to 7743.4, the Nasdaq gains 0.5% to 27068.7, the Dow adds 0.9% to 51828.6, and the Russell 2000 inches up 0.1% to 2837.6.
The rate backdrop stays heavy. The 10-year Treasury yield rises 0.4% to 5.184%, the 30-year climbs 0.8% to 5.504%, and the 5-year slips 0.4% to 5.007%. Credit proxies are softer, with LQD down 0.1% and HYG down 0.0%.
Volatility cools even as yields stay high. The VIX falls 5.1% to 14.87, while the VIX 9-day drops 9.6% to 12.76. On the S&P 500 chart, prices dip early, recover, then chop around the highs before finishing near the top of the day’s range.
Overseas, Europe is broadly lower, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.6%, the DAX off 0.6%, and the CAC 40 down 0.5%. Asia is mixed, led by gains in the Nikkei and Kospi, while the Shanghai Comp. falls 1.2% and the Sensex drops 1.7%. Crypto is also mixed: Bitcoin slips 0.3% to 84091.0, Ethereum edges up 0.2%, and Solana jumps 4.4% to 122.16.