The week in review
The week belonged almost entirely to two sectors. Health Care and Technology each gained while nine of eleven sectors fell, leaving the S&P 500 nearly flat even as the Dow and small-caps dropped more than 1.4%. That kind of narrow leadership, with the Nasdaq 100 up 0.91% while the Russell 2000 shed 1.42%, tells you more about the week's character than any index headline does.
Broad uptrend with healthy participation: most stocks above trend.
What moved the week, and what it sets up
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, and the 10-year Treasury yield moved to 5.04%, a level last seen in 2007, while diesel prices set records in the same session. Broader equities absorbed the news with limited drama · the VIX ended at 15.44, marginally below the prior week's close · but the rate move reshuffled the sector table visibly, with rate-sensitive areas such as Utilities, Real Estate and Financials taking the sharpest losses. For someone managing their own money, this reopens a live rate-hike debate that had been dormant for roughly three years.
Where the money went
Weekly total return of the 11 SPDR sector ETFs, measured Friday close to Friday close.
| Health Care | +1.83% | |
| Technology | +1.04% | |
| Consumer Staples | -0.69% | |
| Energy | -1.27% | |
| Industrials | -1.53% | |
| Communication Svcs | -1.55% | |
| Consumer Discretionary | -1.69% | |
| Materials | -1.86% | |
| Real Estate | -2.06% | |
| Financials | -2.38% | |
| Utilities | -3.04% |
The data behind the tape
Every release below links straight to the issuing agency. No aggregators in between.
| Date | Release | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 09-16-2026 | Fed decision The Fed raised rates for the first time since 2023, a shift that pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to a 2007 high of 5.04% and reset the baseline assumption markets had been carrying about the end of the tightening cycle. | Official release › |
| 09-16-2026 | Retail sales Retail sales data arrived in the same session as the rate decision, giving the tape two significant reads at once; the combination set the tone for how equities and yields moved into the back half of the week. | Official release › |
| 09-17-2026 | Housing starts Housing starts landed Thursday and added to the picture of how a higher-rate environment is filtering through the real economy, a read that weighed on the Real Estate sector, which finished down 2.06% on the week. | Official release › |
| 09-18-2026 | Industrial production Friday's industrial production report rounded out a dense week of macro data, closing out the sequence of releases that together shaped the week's sector rotation away from cyclicals and rate-sensitives. | Official release › |
Sep 21 – Sep 25
What is scheduled. Not a forecast of how it lands.
Covered names, last 7 days
Open-market Form 4 purchases filed by officers, directors and 10% owners. A filing fact, not a recommendation.
Names we have a view on
What in each report would support or undermine our published research. Business facts only, not price calls.
Confirms: Accelerating comparable sales growth and a membership fee increase announcement would support the durable, high-retention franchise narrative.
Breaks: Same-store sales growth below three percent or operating margin compression would undermine the case for paying a premium multiple on thin margins.
What this means
Next week carries two medium-impact releases: Housing starts on Thursday and Consumer sentiment on Friday. Costco reports after the close on Wednesday. A week with a major retailer's earnings alongside sentiment data tends to keep consumer-facing names in focus, and sentiment reads can move quickly after a week in which the rate backdrop shifted materially. Intraday ranges have historically been wider in the session following a large-cap consumer earnings report, particularly when the macro mood is unsettled.
Not personalized advice, and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Figures are sourced from public market data and the agencies linked above.
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