Stock Market News for Sep 29, 2026

U.S. stock markets closed lower on Monday after a choppy session. Crude oil prices remain elevated as the U.S.-Iran geopolitical conflicts showed no signs of abatement. As a result, yields on U.S. government bonds continue to rise. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory.How Did the Benchmarks Perform? The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended at 26,820.38, sliding 0.9% or 248.34 points on weak performance by technology bigwigs. At the intraday low, the index was down more than 359 points. The major loser of the tech-laden index was Arm Holdings plc (ARM Quick QuoteARM - Free Report) . The AI-powered chip developer plummeted 8.7%. ARM Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold)). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The S&P 500 tumbled 0.8% to finish at 7,683.69. However, eight out of 11 sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while three finished in negative territory. At the intraday low, the benchmark index was about 1%. The Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) rose 1%. On the other hand, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) fell 0.9% each. The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 8.1% to 16.07. A total of 16.71 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.87 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 3.55-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On Nasdaq, a 2.56-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. The S&P 500 posted four new highs and 29 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and 249 new lows.U.S.-Iran Conflicts Continue During intraday trading, CNN and Axios reported, citing White Housew officials, that President Trump is likely to reconsider sanctions relief to Iran on nuclear issues. Moreover, news surfaced that Qatari mediators would hold talks with both the United States and Iran to find a possible solution.Government Bond Yields Soar Market participants remained uncertain about the trajectory of the Fed's interest rate path. The central bank raised the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points in this month's FOMC meeting after three years. A large section of economists and financial researchers currently expect another rate hike this year due to sticky inflation, higher crude oil prices and soaring government bond yields. The CME FedWatch interest rate derivative tool currently shows a significant 70.3% probability that the Fed will raise the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points in its October FOMC meeting to the range of 4-4.25% from the existing range of 3.75-4%. Only 29.7% of respondents expect the Fed to maintain status quo. This probability was 57.6% a week ago and a mere 17.7% a month ago.