Wall Street rallies after Fed decision, September 18 2026

1. US EQUITIES RALLY. Wall Street closed higher on Sept 17: Dow Jones +0.61% to 51,778.04; S&P 500 +1.14% to 7,637.76; Nasdaq Composite +1.69% to 26,418.30. Nine of 11 S&P 500 sectors advanced, led by technology +2.20% and consumer discretionary +1.43%; financials -0.10% and consumer staples -0.01% lagged. The broad advance followed investors' reassessment of the Federal Reserve's first rate hike in over three years.

2. FED RATE HIKE VIEWED AS CREDIBILITY RESTORATION. Investors treated the Fed's move and Chair Kevin Warsh's message as credibility restoration rather than a growth shock; lower oil prices also eased inflation concerns. The 10-year Treasury yield fell about 7-9 basis points to 4.93%-4.94%, after breaching 5% on Wednesday. That supported equity valuations, especially in interest-rate-sensitive sectors.

3. SEMICONDUCTOR SURGE. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.14%; Intel +7.7%, Micron +5.5%, SK hynix ADRs +4.64%, Qualcomm +2.1%; Nvidia and Amazon each +2%, Microsoft +1.5%. Chip strength helped the Nasdaq outperform; the sector remains a focal point for AI demand expectations.

4. OIL SLIPS ON SUPPLY ACTION. WTI October settled -0.51% at $101.91/bbl; Brent November -0.95% at $104.82/bbl. Saudi Arabia moved to restore capacity on its East-West pipeline within days and supply additional crude to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers near Sohar, Oman. Improved supply prospects eased energy-price pressure.

5. EUROPE GAINS; ASIA MIXED. European markets closed higher: Germany DAX +0.70% to 25,716.71; France CAC 40 +0.57% to 8,186.93; UK FTSE 100 +1.19% to 10,816.14. Asia-Pacific sessions on Sept 17 diverged: Japan Nikkei 225 +0.33% to 64,136.25; South Korea KOSPI -0.04% to 6,715.41; India SENSEX -0.03% to 74,314.59; Hong Kong Hang Seng -0.44% to 24,604; Shanghai Composite -0.41% to 3,876. Investors awaited the Bank of Japan decision.

6. BANK OF ENGLAND HOLDS. The BoE kept Bank Rate at 3.75% for a sixth straight meeting; three of nine MPC members voted for a 25bp hike. The BoE scrapped long-dated gilt sales and Governor Andrew Bailey warned persistent energy volatility could force a hike. The BOJ decision due Sept 18 was nearly fully priced for a rise to 1.25%, with the yen around 156 per dollar.

7. NOTABLE MOVERS. Generac jumped about 18% after agreeing to supply Amazon with industrial backup generators, initial deliveries worth $2.4bn across 2027-2028 and payments up to $8bn. Oracle rose about 5% on reports OpenAI is in talks to raise capital at a $1.2tn valuation; Lucid gained about 6% after signing a deal with Bolt for at least 25,000 autonomous vehicles; Moderna added about 9% on positive Phase 3 data with Merck for a personalised mRNA cancer vaccine. The OpenAI-Oracle link is based on reports and not officially confirmed.

8. COMMODITIES AND VOLATILITY. Gold +1.82% to $4,341.39/oz, silver +3.5% to $65.22/oz, copper +1.69% to $6.54/lb; Bitcoin +1.02% to $76,388. The VIX fell 12.82% to 15.44, signalling improved risk appetite.

9. TRIPLE WITCHING AND SEC ACTION. Sept 18 marked US triple witching; Citadel Securities estimated about $6.2 trillion of US options exposure rolling off. The SEC issued an order creating a regulatory pathway for trading venues to list tokenised versions of US stocks, effective immediately. The policy step may widen digital asset exposure linked to traditional securities.

Key watch today: Bank of Japan policy decision and yen, Asia equity reaction on Sept 18.

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