WEEKLY MARKET RECAP – September 4, 2026

The major U.S. stock indexes remained in a tight trading range for a fourth consecutive week. The NASDAQ gained 0.4%, the Dow slipped 0.2%, and the S&P 500 finished essentially unchanged. Markets have seen relatively limited movement since the four-day rally that began on July 30.

The U.S. labor market rebounded sharply in August following a slowdown earlier in the summer. Friday’s employment report showed that the economy added 162,000 jobs, a significant improvement from July’s upwardly revised gain of 21,000. The August increase was roughly three times what most economists had expected and marked the strongest monthly job growth in five months. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%.

The stronger-than-expected employment report increased expectations for a potential Federal Reserve rate hike at the policy meeting concluding September 16. According to CME FedWatch, futures markets on Friday indicated a roughly 58% probability of a quarter-point rate increase, compared with a 42% chance that rates would remain unchanged. Before the jobs report, the odds of a September rate hike had been approximately evenly divided.

Treasury yields moved higher during the week. The 2-year and 10-year yields reached year-to-date highs of 4.39% and 4.80%, respectively, on Tuesday before easing somewhat later in the week. At the longer end of the yield curve, the 30-year Treasury yield closed Friday at 5.24%, just below its recent peak of 5.31% and near its highest level in two decades.

Oil prices climbed to their highest level in roughly six weeks as developments in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz continued to influence energy markets. U.S. crude traded above $91 per barrel on Friday afternoon, up from approximately $83 a week earlier. Despite the recent increase, prices remained well below their year-to-date peak from early April, when crude briefly traded above $112.

For August, the S&P 500 gained approximately 2.6%, marking its fourth positive month out of the past five. The NASDAQ led the major indexes with a 3.9% advance, while the Dow rose 1.3%.

Looking ahead, investors will focus on Friday’s Consumer Price Index report, one of the final major economic releases available to Federal Reserve policymakers before their two-day meeting concludes on September 16. The previous CPI report showed that annual inflation eased slightly to 3.4% in July from 3.5% in June.