Weekly Market Commentary

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Week of Sep. 28 through Oct. 2, 2026

The S&P 500 index slipped 0.3% this week amid a broad decline led by the health care and financial sectors.

The S&P 500 ended the week at 7,722.72. The market benchmark ended September on Wednesday with a 0.5% monthly decline. It was still up 2% in the third quarter and is almost 13% this year.

A government jobs report on Friday showed total nonfarm payrolls rose by 29,000 in September, only about a third of the 90,000 increase projected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. Also, the increase in August was adjusted downward by 29,000 to 133,000, while July's tally turned negative.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% on Friday as investors saw the weaker-than-expected jobs data as reducing the odds for a Federal Reserve rate increase at its policy-setting committee's next meeting. The committee made a rate increase of 25 basis points as its meeting last month.

Still, the S&P 500 still ended Friday in negative territory for the week as the day's climb wasn't enough to outweigh declines logged earlier in the week.

The health care and financial sectors had the largest percentage drops this week, falling 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively. Consumer staples and real estate shed 1.9% each while communication services and materials fell 1.6% each. Industrials and consumer discretionary also edged lower.

Incyte (INCY) led the health care sectors' decliners, falling 6.9% on the week. The drop came even as Incyte and Mirum Pharmaceuticals said their Atebrioz tablet was approved by the US Food & Drug Administration to treat adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, a rare genetic disease in which bone forms in muscles, tendons, ligaments and other soft tissues, progressively restricting movements.

In the financial sector, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) was one of the hardest-hit stocks this week, sliding 8.4%. Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the company to $40 per share from $45 while maintaining a hold rating.

McCormick (MKC) led the slide in consumer staples, falling 6.8%. The spice company's fiscal third-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's expectations but showed it faced volume weakness amid macroeconomic uncertainty. McCormick's near-term catalyst path is choppy as demand trends are yet to show meaningful signs of improvement amid concerns around cost inflation and the pending Unilever (UL) Foods transaction, UBS said in a research report.

Three sectors managed to buck the week's downward trajectory: Technology and energy rose 1.4% each and utilities edged higher.

Synopsys (SNPS) was among the top gainers in the technology sector, climbing 15% on the week. The company forecast fiscal 2027 revenue and adjusted earnings per share above analysts' mean estimates at the time.

The energy sector's gains were led by Marathon Petroleum (MPC), which rose 7.3% on the week. Marathon's stock received increased price targets from analysts at TD Cowen as well as BMO Capital. TD Cowen now has a price target of $450 on the stock, up from $375, while BMO raised its price target on Marathon's stock to $455 from $365.

Earnings reports next week are expected from companies including PepsiCo (PEP), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Constellation Brands (STZ).

Economic data will include the US services purchasing managers index for September, consumer credit for August and the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer survey for October.

Provided by MT Newswires.