Weekly Market Summary: Jobs Surprise Pressures Stocks as Fed Outlook Tighten Going Into Labor Day – ( $EPRX $EXOD $LPL $MODD $MU $NVDA $SOC $TE $TSLA $YSG )

U.S. equities finished lower on Friday, September 4, 2026, after a stronger-than-expected August employment report forced investors to reconsider the near-term path of Federal Reserve policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the major benchmarks lower, while small-cap stocks outperformed and volatility remained restrained as we swiftly headed into the Long Labor Day Weekend.

Market close at a glance

The S&P 500 closed at 7,718.60, down 29.11 points, or 0.38%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 53,414.26, down 271.86 points, or 0.51%, while the Nasdaq Composite settled at 26,506.99, down 77.07 points, or 0.29%. The Russell 2000 bucked the broader-market weakness, rising 7.89 points, or 0.27%, to 2,976.16. The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, climbed 0.08 points to 14.40, indicating that investors absorbed the payroll surprise without a major jump in near-term market-stress expectations.

Asset / Index	September 4 close	Daily change
S&P 500	7,718.60	-29.11 / -0.38%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	53,414.26	-271.86 / -0.51%
Nasdaq Composite	26,506.99	-77.07 / -0.29%
Russell 2000	2,976.16	+7.89 / +0.27%
Cboe Volatility Index	14.40	+0.08 / +0.56%
Gold	$4,481.40	-$58.50 / -1.29%
Bitcoin	$79,807.28	-$1,661.68 / -2.04%
October crude oil	$91.34	-$0.02 / -0.02%

Strong jobs report resets Fed expectations

The August jobs report was the week’s pivotal macroeconomic catalyst. U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 in August, substantially above the 53,000 consensus forecast, while the unemployment rate held at 4.1%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised the preceding two months’ payroll figures upward by a combined 55,000 jobs. That combination, a stronger payroll gain, steady unemployment, and upward revisions, challenged the thesis that the labor market is weakening quickly enough to require a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut. Investors had been encouraged earlier in the week by signs that policymakers could maintain a more patient stance if inflation continued easing. Friday’s labor data instead reminded markets that economic resilience can keep interest rates elevated for longer. The report included several constructive details:

• Construction payrolls increased by 22,000, reflecting ongoing activity in infrastructure, housing, manufacturing facilities, and data-center development.
• Manufacturing added 16,000 jobs, including gains in machinery and fabricated-metal products.
• Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% for the month and 3.1% from a year earlier.
• The labor-force participation rate rose to 61.6%.
• Information employment fell 23,000, partly reflecting weakness in computing infrastructure, data processing, web hosting, publishing, and broadcasting-related businesses.

For equity investors, a stronger labor market is not inherently bearish. Healthy employment supports consumption, corporate revenue, household credit quality, and recession resistance. However, the market’s challenge is valuation: if Treasury yields stay high and the Fed delays easing, richly valued growth companies may face a higher discount rate for future earnings.

Cross-asset signals

The Friday session showed a cautious reduction in risk appetite across several major asset classes. Gold retreated 1.29% to $4,481.40 per ounce, while Bitcoin fell 2.04% to $79,807.28. Those moves suggest investors were not broadly seeking traditional or alternative inflation hedges after the employment report; rather, they were adjusting to the possibility that stronger economic data could support a firmer rate environment. October crude oil futures were nearly unchanged at $91.28 per barrel, declining just $0.02. The muted oil move points to a market still weighing resilient U.S. economic conditions against broader concerns about demand, supply balances, and trade-related uncertainty and ,of course, the war. The Russell 2000’s 0.27% gain deserves attention. Small-cap equities tend to be more sensitive to domestic demand, credit availability, refinancing costs, and economic growth. Friday’s advance suggests that investors did not interpret the jobs report as a recession warning. Instead, they appeared to rotate selectively toward companies that could benefit from sustained U.S. economic activity, even as large-cap indexes declined.

Trade, AI and corporate themes

Trade policy remained a potential macro risk after President Donald Trump suggested that the United States could halt trade with countries where it runs a deficit unless the Federal Reserve lowers rates. The comments followed reports that the U.S. trade deficit rose to $88.6 billion in July, driven in part by a sharp increase in imports. The import picture also highlighted the continuing AI infrastructure buildout. Imports of computers reportedly jumped 25% month over month in July, and semiconductor imports increased 10%, consistent with ongoing capital spending on servers, networking equipment, memory, power systems, and data-center capacity. That backdrop remains consequential for public companies tied to AI infrastructure, including NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU), Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI), Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET), Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL), Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT), Eaton (NYSE: ETN), and Oracle (NYSE: ORCL). The long-term demand case remains powerful, but investors are increasingly focused on whether AI-related spending can translate into durable earnings growth if financing costs remain elevated. Among individual company developments, Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) was under pressure after lowering its outlook. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $2.4 billion, down 4% year over year, and said it expects full-year revenue of $10.35 billion to $10.5 billion, with adjusted earnings per share projected at $9.48 to $9.73. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) declined sharply as investors assessed autonomous-vehicle developments and regulatory scrutiny after a recent run up, while Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) weighed on major indexes amid concerns about hardware production constraints and memory-chip costs. Conversely, Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) benefited from optimism around AI-focused high-bandwidth-memory production, and NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) traded relatively resiliently.

Outlook for next week

The market now enters a critical inflation-and-policy window. Next week’s CPI and PPI releases will likely carry greater influence than usual because they arrive immediately ahead of the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting.

Investors should focus on:

1. Inflation data: Cooling core inflation would support the argument that the Fed can remain patient without reverting to a more restrictive posture. A hot inflation print could push Treasury yields higher and pressure rate-sensitive equities.
2. Bond-market reaction: The strength and direction of the 10-year Treasury yield may matter more than the payroll headline itself. A sustained rise in yields could create a valuation headwind for technology, communications, housing, utilities, and other long-duration sectors.
3. Small-cap leadership: The Russell 2000’s relative strength is constructive if it continues. Persistent small-cap outperformance would signal confidence in domestic growth and a broadening beyond mega-cap technology.
4. AI capital-spending evidence: Investors will watch for incremental demand signals from semiconductor, networking, data-center, cloud, power, and cooling companies. The market increasingly wants proof that AI infrastructure investment is becoming revenue, earnings, and free cash flow—not merely capital expenditure.
5. Trade-policy headlines: New tariffs, import restrictions, or embargo-related rhetoric could introduce fresh uncertainty around inflation, global supply chains, and companies with significant overseas manufacturing or sales exposure.

The week ended with a nuanced message. The U.S. economy appears more resilient than many investors expected, and small-cap strength indicates that growth fears have not taken control of the market. But the same resilience could make it harder for the Federal Reserve to justify easier policy in the near term. For markets, the next major question is whether inflation data corroborate the Fed-friendly disinflation story—or force a renewed “higher for longer” reassessment.

VP Watchlist Updates

Amwell® (NYSE: AMWL)

Amwell® (NYSE: AMWL), a leading provider of a comprehensive SaaS-based software platform for technology-enabled healthcare, closed at $12.99.

Amwell® has received Frost & Sullivan’s 2026 United States Technology Innovation Leadership Recognition in the Technology-Enabled Care Platforms Industry. The recognition validates Amwell’s ability to address healthcare fragmentation through a unified platform that orchestrates consumer experiences, clinician workflows, care programs, and partner solutions.

Amwell® (NYSE: AMWL) announced (Aug. 4) financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. Dr. Ido Schoenberg, Chairman and CEO of Amwell stated, “The DHA’s intent to make Amwell a prime contractor is a powerful endorsement of our platform and our people. With subscription revenue now approaching half our total revenue, independently validated behavioral clinical outcomes, no debt, and positive cash flows from operations projected for the fourth quarter this year, we have never been better positioned to lead the era of AI-powered care.”

The Company also reiterated its objective to achieve positive cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP)

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP, $12.61) is a real estate investment trust serving dynamic tech and media tenants in global epicenters for these synergistic, converging and secular growth industries. Hudson Pacific’s unique and high-barrier tech and media focus leverages a full-service, end-to-end value creation platform forged through deep strategic relationships and niche expertise across identifying, acquiring, transforming and developing properties into world-class amenitized, collaborative and sustainable office and studio space. HPP turned in a quarter ( Aug. 5) that suggests the office malaise is not over, but it may finally be meeting resistance. Revenue came in above Wall Street’s expectations, occupancy moved higher for a fourth straight quarter, and management raised full-year guidance — a combination that does not make for a triumphant victory lap, but it does make for a more credible turnaround narrative. Learn more.

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (EPRX)

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (EPRX, $8.40, +12%), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary Diffusphere™ technology designed to optimize local, controlled drug delivery for applications with significant unmet need, announced (Aug. 13) positive results from a new analysis of the RESOLVE study examining the effect of EP-104GI on symptom severity, including for the first time an analysis of the effect of EP-104GI on odynophagia (pain when swallowing). This is important because odynophagia scoring is a component of Dysphagia Symptom Questionnaire (DSQ), a commonly used patient reported outcome used in pivotal clinical trials in EoE patients.

Modular Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: MODD)

Modular Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: MODD, $3.68, +7.60%), a commercial-stage medical device company preparing for the commercial launch of its next-generation Pivot™ tubeless patch pump, announced (September 4) that it has secured a contract with a national U.S. pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) in the United States. Pursuant to the contract, the Company’s Pivot insulin delivery system is now available through the national PBM. The Company believes the engagement with this national PBM represents a significant step forward in broadening patient access to the Company’s Pivot tubeless patch pump and will further validate the Pivot pump as an accessible therapeutic option for people living with diabetes.

MODD announced (September 3) that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a set of software enhancements to its Pivot insulin delivery system, further expanding the system’s functionality and providing users with greater flexibility and customization options in bolus dosing, an enhanced user-interface (UI), and other software upgrades.

MODD CEO, Jeb Besser, co-hosted a Tribe Public’s CEO Presentation and Q&A Webinar Event titled “The Road To Revenue: Modular Medical’s Strategy For Launching Pivot,” that was held Friday, September 4, 2026 (8:30am PT / 11:30 am ET). You may watch the event video below now if you missed it below now.

MODD announced (Aug. 3) plans to initiate the first phase of commercialization of its Pivot tubeless patch pump across five strategically selected U.S. markets beginning in October 2026. The initial rollout will include Atlanta, Cincinnati/Lexington, Dallas, Houston, and Philadelphia, representing a foundational step in the Company’s capital efficient commercialization strategy with its mission to expand access to simplified insulin delivery solutions for all people living with diabetes.

MODD recently (July 22) announced the formation of its Pivot Innovation Council, a cross-functional group of leading clinicians and healthcare experts established to help guide the company’s clinical and commercial strategy. Diabetes care expert Robert Gabbay, MD, PhD, FACP was appointed as chair of the Pivot Innovation Council. The council will provide insights on target patient populations, support optimization of clinical workflows, inform evidence-generation initiatives, and help refine the Pivot product roadmap and go-to-market approach, as the Company continues to scale its differentiated offering.

Modular released findings (July 15) from an independent market research study demonstrating positive receptivity to its FDA-cleared Pivot™ tubeless patch pump due to its differentiated design, streamlined user experience, and potential for reimbursement through the pharmacy channel.

Similarweb Ltd. (NYSE: SMWB)

Similarweb Ltd. (NYSE: SMWB) and NIQ (NYSE: NIQ) have recently announced their planned Agentic Commerce Measurement solution aims to connect AI-based product discovery with consumer intent, traffic, conversion and verified sales outcomes. The first version is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, initially across selected categories and markets. For many, the strategic appeal is simple: as AI becomes an increasingly consequential front door to commerce, the value may accrue not only to the companies building AI assistants, but also to the data-and-measurement providers that tell enterprises whether all that artificial intelligence is generating actual revenue, or merely very articulate window-shopping.

SMWB recently delivered the sort of second-quarter report investors tend to enjoy: revenue and profitability exceeded guidance, full-year expectations moved higher, and AI demand translated into contracts rather than merely conference-call poetry. SMWB closed at $8.84.. Learn More.

LG Display Co., Ltd. (LPL)

LG Display Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LPL, $3.30, +1.54%) has spent the last few years doing something many hardware companies talk about but few execute well: turning a technology pivot into a full‑blown business transformation that everyday investors can actually follow. Instead of chasing commoditized LCD TV panels in a race to the bottom, LPL is leaning into Gaming OLED, CES‑worthy innovation, and premium automotive displays – and the press trail tells a surprisingly investor‑friendly story.

Yatsen Group (NYSE: YSG)

Yatsen Group (NYSE: YSG, $2.66, +12.24%), a leading China-based beauty group, delivered the sort of quarter that can make a turnaround investor sit up straighter: reported revenue grew, its strategically important skincare operation accelerated sharply, and the company is increasingly built around clinical and premium brands rather than a pure color-cosmetics play. The results are not yet a victory lap, losses widened and third-quarter guidance is cautious, but YSG’s transformation is beginning to look less like a cosmetic touch-up and more like a genuine renovation.

YSG announced (July 8) a landmark collaboration to bring its flagship brand, Perfect Diary, to Sephora in China. This partnership integrates Yatsen’s rigorous scientific infrastructure with the world’s leading prestige beauty retailer, marking a significant milestone in Yatsen’s continuing evolution into a global beauty technology powerhouse.

Doximity, Inc. (NYSE:DOCS)

Doximity (NYSE: DOCS, $26.35) is the leading digital platform for U.S. medical professionals. The company’s network members include more than 85% of U.S. physicians across all specialties and practice areas. Doximity provides its verified clinical membership with digital tools built for medicine, enabling them to collaborate with colleagues, stay current on medical news and research, manage their careers and on-call schedules, streamline documentation and administrative paperwork, and conduct virtual patient visits.

Doximity, Inc. (NYSE: DOCS) announced (Aug. 6) results of its fiscal 2027 first quarter ended June 30, 2026. Jeff Tangney, co-founder and CEO of Doximity, “We’re proud that our clinical AI assistant, Doximity Ask, was the top-performing U.S.-based model in the NOHARM benchmark while we delivered another quarter of record engagement. In Q1 we had accelerated revenue growth along with workflow active prescriber growth of more than 30% year-over-year and AI Search query growth of over 25% quarter-over-quarter.”

Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Financial Highlights

All comparisons, unless otherwise noted, are to the three months ended June 30, 2025.

• Revenue: Revenue of $156.6 million, versus $145.9 million, an increase of 7% year-over-year.
• Net income and non-GAAP net income: Net income of $24.3 million, versus $53.3 million, representing a margin of 15.5%, versus 36.5%. Non-GAAP net income of $55.0 million, versus $71.9 million, representing a margin of 35.1%, versus 49.2%.
• Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA of $74.8 million, versus $79.8 million, a decrease of 6% year-over-year, representing adjusted EBITDA margins of 47.7%, versus 54.7%.
• Diluted net income per share and non-GAAP diluted net income per share: Diluted net income per share was $0.13, versus $0.27, while non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.29, versus $0.36.
• Operating cash flow and free cash flow: Operating cash flow of $42.0 million, versus $62.1 million, a decrease of 32% year-over-year, and free cash flow of $39.6 million, versus $60.1 million, a decrease of 34% year-over-year.

Financial Outlook

Doximity is providing guidance for its fiscal second quarter ending September 30, 2026 as follows:

• Revenue between $170 million and $171 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA between $80.5 million and $81.5 million.

Doximity is updating guidance for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2027 as follows:

• Revenue between $671 million and $681 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA between $309 million and $329 million.

Sable Offshore Corp. (SOC)

Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE: SOC, $4.74, +.42%) has moved from the awkward “pre-revenue restoration project” phase into something much more recognizable to Wall Street: a company selling meaningful volumes of oil, generating operating cash flow, and building momentum into a potentially larger 2027 earnings base. The second-quarter report on Monday was not a polished victory lap—midstream bottlenecks and one-time costs made sure of that—but it offered something potentially more valuable: proof that the Santa Ynez Unit restart is translating into barrels, revenue, and operational traction. Learn more.

T1 Energy Inc. (NYSE: TE)

T1 Energy Inc. (NYSE: TE, $4.60, +1.32%) offers a different type of growth story: one rooted in domestic production, trade-policy tailwinds and execution on solar manufacturing capacity. T1 announced (Aug. 27) that local officials in Mo i Rana, Norway, have rezoned a portion of the company’s Giga Arctic campus, allowing for the development of a data center. T1 is pursuing multiple pathways to monetize this brownfield facility as part of a value optimization initiative.

T1 recently reported second-quarter net sales of $250.1 million, produced 935 megawatts of solar modules at its G1_Dallas facility and generated adjusted EBITDA of $10.7 million. The company also monetized $39.1 million of 2025 Section 45X tax credits and ended the quarter with $156.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, including $79.1 million unrestricted. The headline loss should not be ignored: T1 reported a $36.9 million net loss from continuing operations, while its adjusted EBITDA benefited from $24.4 million in tariff refunds recognized in cost of sales. Yet the more interesting investor question is whether the company is creating a viable U.S. solar-manufacturing platform at a time when supply-chain security and domestic energy capacity carry unusually high strategic value. The company expects its first solar cells from a planned 2.1-gigawatt manufacturing facility in the first quarter of 2027. With 3 gigawatts of firm contracts, a 641-megawatt offtake agreement with Clearway and 2026 output expected toward the upper end of its 3.1-to-4.2-gigawatt range, T1’s story is increasingly about turning production capacity into contracted revenue. For investors, TE is less a conventional earnings multiple story than an execution-and-optionality story. If domestic solar demand remains durable and manufacturing milestones stay on schedule, the market may ultimately value the company less like a troubled commodity producer and more like a strategically positioned industrial platform.

Nvidia (NVDA, $230.26, +.84%)

NVDA announced plans (Sept. 3) to acquire open-AI platform Hugging Face for approximately $13 billion, with closing expected in 2027. The move reinforces NVIDIA’s effort to deepen its position across AI infrastructure, development tools, and the open-source AI ecosystem. Learn More.

Nvidia once again delivered (Wed., August 26) results that made Wall Street’s estimates look rather conservative. After the bell on Wednesday, NVIDIA, for its fiscal second quarter, the AI-chip leader reported adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share, ahead of the $2.10 consensus forecast, while revenue reached $96.22 billion, comfortably above expectations of $92.17 billion. The performance underscores Nvidia’s central role in the global AI buildout, where demand for its computing hardware continues to turn ambitious data-center plans into exceptionally large purchase orders. In short: the company remains one of the market’s preferred ways to bet on artificial intelligence, and, judging by the numbers, the machines are still very much hungry.

Exodus Movement, Inc. (EXOD, $7.41, +1.51%)

Exodus Movement, Inc. (NYSE American: EXOD) offers investors an increasingly unusual combination: a publicly traded software company positioned at the intersection of crypto adoption, self-custody, consumer finance and digital-asset infrastructure. In a sector accustomed to grand promises and occasionally vanishing balance sheets, Exodus sells a more practical proposition—help users securely manage, swap, stake and spend digital assets without handing over the keys. That model is gaining relevance as cryptocurrency moves beyond the speculative trading screen and toward everyday financial utility. Exodus is not trying to become a bank in a hoodie; it is building the user-friendly front door to a self-custodial digital-asset economy.

The Sources

1. CNBC Stock futures are little changed as traders await August jobs report: Live updates
2. Yahoo Finance Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures diverge after blowout jobs report
3. Yahoo Finance Trump threatens to stop trading with countries that have a trade deficit unless the Fed cuts rates
4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation, August 2026
5. CNBC U.S. payrolls rose 162,000 in August, much more than expected; unemployment rate at 4.1%
6. Yahoo Finance The Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow All Fell Slightly Friday. The Jobs Report Wasn’t Really Why.
7. Yahoo Finance Stock Market News for September 4, 2026

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Market data are subject to revision, and investors should conduct independent due diligence before making investment decisions.