Weekly Market Summary (Sept. 25, 2026): Stocks Gain as Oil Pullback Eases Pressure, While Treasury Yields Stay Elevated -( $AKAM $AMWL $DOCS $LPL $META $MODD $MSFT $NVDA $SER $YSG )

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, September 25, 2026, as falling oil prices and signs of a potential diplomatic opening around the Strait of Hormuz helped support risk appetite. The advance came despite continued pressure in the bond market, with the 10-year Treasury yield ending at 5.18%, and left investors weighing improving geopolitical sentiment against persistent inflation and interest-rate risks.

Friday Market Performance

Market Commentary

Friday’s market action reflected a clearer improvement in risk sentiment than headline index gains alone may suggest. The Dow’s 0.93% rise, the S&P 500’s 0.51% advance, and the VIX’s 5.24% drop pointed to reduced immediate concern about a disruptive escalation in energy markets or global trade. The most consequential move was oil. November WTI crude fell 2.21% to $92.52 per barrel as investors responded to reports of potential diplomatic progress involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Iran indicated it could reopen the waterway within seven days and restart nuclear discussions if its conditions were met, while Saudi crude exports reportedly rose despite regional disruptions. A sustained reduction in the oil-risk premium would matter well beyond the energy complex. Cheaper crude can ease gasoline-price pressure, lower near-term inflation fears, reduce stress on consumer budgets and potentially relieve some upward pressure on long-term Treasury yields. The market’s lower VIX reading suggests investors treated Friday’s developments as a near-term de-escalation signal rather than a definitive geopolitical resolution.

Macro and Rates

The bond market remained the central macroeconomic constraint. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ended Friday at 5.18%, up 2 basis points on the day after reaching higher levels intraday. This left the benchmark yield near its highest range in years and reinforced the challenge for equity valuations, especially growth companies whose earnings are expected further into the future. The week’s consumer data added to those concerns. The University of Michigan’s final September Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 48.1, down from 51.7 in August and at a four-month low. One-year inflation expectations rose to 4.6%, while long-run expectations edged up to 3.4%. This combination, low consumer confidence, higher inflation expectations and a 5%+ 10-year yield, creates a more complicated environment for the Federal Reserve and investors. It supports the case for caution on rate-sensitive sectors even if the broader equity market remains resilient. Illustration: A technology company can report strong revenue growth and still see its valuation contract if Treasury yields rise. Higher yields increase the return investors can earn from lower-risk government bonds, raising the hurdle rate applied to future corporate earnings. Friday’s Nasdaq gain shows the AI growth narrative remains powerful, but the index’s 0.48% rise lagged the Dow’s 0.93% increase as yields stayed elevated.

Geopolitics, Oil and Trade

The energy-market response followed headlines suggesting a possible path toward reduced disruption in the Persian Gulf. Any credible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would be significant because the route is central to seaborne oil movements. Yet the situation remains fluid: negotiations are preliminary, and earlier diplomatic understandings did not prevent renewed conflict. Saudi Arabia has partially mitigated supply fears by increasing exports, reportedly shipping about 6 million barrels per day in September, versus roughly 3.4 million barrels per day in August. That export increase helped challenge the market’s most severe shortage assumptions, even as regional infrastructure and shipping risks persisted. On the trade front, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded their Washington meetings with a limited extension of the U.S.-China trade truce through January 10. The agreement offered temporary relief for global supply chains by preserving tariff reductions and pausing certain Chinese controls affecting rare earths and other critical minerals. However, major issues, including artificial intelligence, Taiwan, technology restrictions and more durable commercial commitments, remained unresolved.

AI, Technology and Corporate Themes

AI continued to underpin technology-sector optimism, but Friday’s market action also emphasized the physical constraints that accompany the buildout. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said communities must be persuaded to support new data-center development. His comments underscore that access to electricity, land, water, transmission capacity and local approval is increasingly integral to the economics of AI infrastructure. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) remains a major beneficiary of the data-center investment cycle, while the AI demand wave has also increased investor focus on cloud infrastructure, networking, semiconductor equipment, memory and power supply. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) continued to benefit from investor enthusiasm around consumer AI and advertising monetization, while Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) received attention after its multiyear AI-infrastructure agreement with Anthropic. The key investment implication is that AI remains a powerful structural theme, but returns may increasingly depend on which companies can secure power, build capacity efficiently and demonstrate measurable economic returns from large capital expenditures.

Key Takeaways for Next Week

• The S&P 500 closed at 7,743.41, the Dow at 51,828.62, and the Nasdaq at 27,068.72, all higher for Friday
• The Dow’s 0.93% gain outpaced the Nasdaq’s 0.48% rise, showing broader participation while long-term yields remain elevated.
• WTI crude’s 2.21% decline to $92.52 per barrel relieved some immediate inflation anxiety and was a major driver of improved risk sentiment.
• The VIX fell 5.24% to 14.85, signaling lower near-term equity-market fear.
• The 10-year Treasury yield ended at 5.18%, keeping pressure on rate-sensitive assets and making the path for equity valuations more demanding.
• Consumer sentiment and inflation expectations remain important warning signals, particularly if higher energy costs reaccelerate or geopolitical negotiations fail.
• The U.S.-China trade pause offers a near-term reduction in policy uncertainty, but it does not resolve longer-run competition over technology, AI, critical minerals and trade access.

Bottom Line

Friday’s session was a constructive end to the week: major U.S. equity indexes advanced, volatility declined sharply and oil prices fell as investors priced in a greater chance of geopolitical de-escalation. The combination of a 0.93% gain in the Dow, a 0.51% gain in the S&P 500 and a 2.21% drop in WTI crude reflected a broad reduction in immediate risk concerns. However, investors should not overlook the bond-market signal. With the 10-year Treasury yield at 5.18%, consumer sentiment weakened and inflation expectations rising, the market remains exposed to renewed volatility if oil rebounds, diplomatic progress breaks down or incoming data force investors to rethink the outlook for monetary policy.

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 $13.43.

AMWL announced (Sept 8) announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has declared its intent for the Company to deploy its virtual health platform within the VA enterprise and help power the modernization of the VA’s digital health infrastructure. The VA anticipates the Amwell platform will support a broad range of clinical services, enhance care coordination, and improve access for our Veterans across the VA enterprise. The Letter of Intent follows a comprehensive evaluation process by the VA, in which it determined that Amwell’s virtual health platform aligns with the Department’s strategic objectives to expand access to high-quality, secure, and reliable virtual care services for Veterans nationwide through the VA’s current electronic health record modernization efforts. Specifically, the capabilities Amwell demonstrated in scalable video consultations, interoperability, cybersecurity compliance, and support for integrated care delivery were significant factors in this determination.

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.

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

Serina Therapeutics (NYSE: SER)

Serina Theraeuptics (NYSE: SER, $2..09) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of wholly owned drug product candidates to treat neurological diseases and other indications. Serina’s POZ PlatformTM provides the potential to improve the integrated efficacy and safety profile of multiple modalities including small molecules, RNA-based therapeutics and antibody-based drug conjugates (ADCs). Serina is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama on the campus of the HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology.

On Thursday, September 24, 2026, Serina CEO Steve Ledger discussed discuss Serina’s programs’ progress during Tribe Public’s “A New Approach to Advanced Parkinson’s Disease: Serina Discusses SER-252’s Clinical Progress”webinar, followed by a live Q&A. You may view it below.

SER announced (Sept. 9) that the independent Safety Monitoring Committee (SMC) has completed its blinded review of Cohort 1 of the ongoing Phase 1b registrational study of SER-252 in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease and recommended that the study advance to Cohort 2. Cohort 1 evaluated the lowest dose level in the single-ascending-dose portion of the study. In addition to supporting continued dose escalation, blinded Cohort 1 observations showed a pharmacokinetic profile consistent with the sustained apomorphine exposure SER-252 is designed to provide and included sustained periods of improvement in motor function in individual patients on exploratory clinical measures.

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP)

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP, $11.65) 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, $8.01), 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, $2.11), 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.

LG Display Co., Ltd. (LPL)

LG Display Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LPL, $2.98, +2.76%) 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, $2.54, +2.42%), 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, +1.19%) 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, $3.97) 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, $3.78) 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, $225.07,+.22%)

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), an AI, Enterprise, Storage, and 5G/Edge IT Total Solution Provider, is now shipping NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 racks integrated with Supermicro’s Data Center Building Block Solutions® (DCBBS) and its direct liquid cooling stack (DLC-2).

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.

The Sources

1. CNBC Stock Market Today: S&P 500 rises, heads for winning week despite Treasury yield surge
2. CNBC Trump and Xi wrap state visit: Key takeaways
3. CNBC Saudi Arabia crude-oil exports rise despite regional pipeline disruption
4. CNBC Oil falls on prospects for a diplomatic solution to the Iran conflict
5. CNBC Iran offers to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear talks
6. Yahoo Finance Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rise
7. Yahoo Finance Microsoft CEO: Data-center construction requires community trust
8. Yahoo Finance Alice Walton’s wealth and tuition-free medical-school initiative
9. University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers September 2026 consumer sentiment results
10. Reuters U.S. consumer sentiment falls to a four-month low in September
11. U.S. Department of the Treasury Daily Treasury yield-curve rates
12. Yahoo Finance S&P 500 historical market data