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Stock market weekly gains held into Friday’s close on September 25, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.93% to 51,828.62, snapping a three-week losing streak, while the S&P 500 added 0.51% to 7,743.41 and the Nasdaq gained 0.48% to 27,068.72. All three indexes finished the week higher even as bond markets went through one of their roughest stretches in years.
Why stock market weekly gains stood out this time
The rally came despite the 10-year Treasury yield climbing to 5.18%, its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. In past years, a move like that might have dragged equities down alongside it. Instead, according to Yahoo Finance’s market wrap, investors treated the bond move as a separate story from corporate earnings momentum, particularly in technology.
BlackRock’s Rick Rieder described the bond situation as “not a crisis but an eye-opener.” That framing captures how Wall Street processed the yield spike: a signal worth watching on inflation, not a reason to sell stocks broadly.
Meta’s AI bet drove much of the week’s gains
Meta shares surged roughly 13% during the week on investor enthusiasm for its Muse AI agent, a standout move that helped offset weakness elsewhere. Costco also beat expectations, reporting revenue of $95.72 billion against a $94.88 billion estimate. Not every stock benefited: Bank of America downgraded Nike to Underperform and cut its price target to $30, citing concerns that predate this week’s macro turbulence.
The divergence between Meta’s rally and Nike’s downgrade illustrates a market that has grown increasingly selective. It rewards companies seen as AI beneficiaries while continuing to punish consumer-facing names facing their own separate demand pressures.
Oil eased while gas prices stayed high
On the commodities side, WTI crude fell to $92 a barrel and Brent traded below $98, an easing that gave some relief to markets rattled by Middle East tensions. That relief has not reached drivers yet. Average US gas prices remained near $4.50, and consumer sentiment fell to a four-month low of 48.1 as households weighed high pump prices against ongoing tariff concerns.
Trading volume across the major exchanges stayed elevated through the week as investors rotated between rate-sensitive sectors and the AI-linked names that have driven most of 2026’s gains. That pattern has repeated through several volatile stretches this year without producing a sustained broad-market pullback.
What the bond move actually means
A 10-year yield at 5.18% raises borrowing costs across the economy, from mortgages to corporate debt, and typically reflects investor expectations of persistent inflation or heavier government borrowing. The fact that equities absorbed the move without a broad selloff suggests investors are betting that corporate earnings, especially in AI-linked technology names, can outrun higher financing costs for now. Housing-sensitive and small-cap stocks, which tend to be more exposed to borrowing costs, lagged the broader indexes over the same stretch.
Strategists at several major banks have flagged the gap between mega-cap technology performance and the rest of the market as one of the more unusual features of this year’s rally. A narrower group of AI-linked names has accounted for a disproportionate share of the S&P 500’s total gains since January.
What investors are watching next week
The key question heading into next week is whether Treasury yields keep climbing or stabilize near current levels. A further move higher would test whether equity investors can keep treating the bond market as background noise. That is particularly true for rate-sensitive sectors like housing and small-cap stocks, which have not enjoyed the same AI-driven tailwind as Meta and its peers.
More business coverage
Related reading: our coverage of the Federal Reserve’s latest rate decision, the Treasury yields bond rout, and AMD’s trillion-dollar valuation milestone.
Markets FAQ: what investors want to know
Did all three major indexes close higher for the week?
Yes. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all posted weekly gains, with the Dow’s 0.93% Friday rise snapping a three-week losing streak.
Why didn’t rising bond yields hurt stocks more?
Investors appear to be treating the yield spike as a separate inflation signal rather than an immediate threat to corporate earnings, particularly in AI-linked technology stocks.
What drove Meta’s stock higher this week?
Investor enthusiasm for Meta’s Muse AI agent pushed shares up roughly 13% during the week.
How high did the 10-year Treasury yield get?
It climbed to 5.18%, its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
What happened to oil and gas prices?
WTI crude eased to $92 a barrel and Brent fell below $98, though average US gas prices stayed near $4.50 despite the easing in crude.
Market data sources
- Yahoo Finance — Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq notch weekly wins. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/live/stock-market-today-friday-september-25-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-081738529.html
- TheStreet — Stock Market Today (Sept. 25, 2026): S&P 500 and Nasdaq end the week higher. https://www.thestreet.com/stock-market-today/stock-market-today-dow-jones-sp-500-nasdaq-updates-sept-25-2026
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