The Quick Read
- Stocks continued to show remarkable resilience with major indexes moving higher in September despite higher energy prices, a Fed rate hike, and the 10-year moving past the 5% level.
- Technology in general and AI-related stock specifically surged toward the end of the month as renewed enthusiasm overwhelmed concerns over spending and potential regulation.
- September largely had a “macro” focus on geopolitical and Fed issues, but October brings corporate earnings reports, which ultimately drives stocks prices.
What… Me Worry?!
The month of September can prove to be a volatile one throughout history and this time was no different, with warnings that AI was going to destroy the world combining with rising oil prices and the first Fed rate hike in three years to give investors plenty to worry about. Perhaps most unnerving was the relentless rise in interest rates, with the 10-year Treasury breaching the technically and psychologically important 5% level.
