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U.S. stocks ended the week of September 28 through October 2, 2026, mixed: the Nasdaq rose 0.5%, while the S&P 500, Dow and Russell 2000 slipped. Friday’s broad rally after a weaker-than-expected jobs report did not erase earlier losses. Rising Treasury yields and oil-market volatility weighed on stocks earlier in the week, while Micron earnings and Nvidia news added company-specific momentum to the semiconductor story. The available reporting points to several influences, not one event that explains every move.
How did the market perform last week?
For the full U.S. trading week, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3%, and the Russell 2000 fell 0.2%; the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%, according to the Associated Press’s October 2 market report. On Friday alone, the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow 0.5%, the Nasdaq 1.2%, and the Russell 2000 0.9%. The S&P closed at 7,722.72 and the Nasdaq at 27,190.86.
Those figures show why Friday’s advance should not be mistaken for the week’s overall result. The indexes had faced pressure earlier, and the gains were uneven across the full period.
Why did stocks rise after a weak jobs report?
The September employment report showed 29,000 net jobs added in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September 2026 Employment Situation release. That was below economists’ expectations and slower than August’s revised 133,000, as reported by AP.
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Contemporaneous market coverage interpreted the weaker hiring as easing concern that an especially strong economy could add to inflation pressure and increase the likelihood of a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike. AP reported that traders pared bets on a rate increase later in October. Such bets reflect changing market pricing, not a commitment by the Fed or certainty about its next decision.
Yields initially fell after the report and then recovered some of their losses, AP said. The report was one factor in Friday’s market reaction; the available reporting does not establish that it alone caused the rally or any particular company’s move.
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What happened to Nvidia and Micron stock?
Nvidia: a record high amid a volatile week
Benzinga’s October 2 weekly recap reported that Nvidia touched $237.55 on Friday, October 2, setting a fresh all-time high. It also reported that Nvidia’s board added $150 billion to its share-repurchase authorization on Monday, September 28. The recap does not establish that the authorization caused the record high, and the sources do not establish Nvidia’s exact return for the full week.
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The stock’s path was not one-way: AP reported that Nvidia closed 0.7% lower on Tuesday, September 29, after giving up an early gain as rising long-term Treasury yields pressured technology shares. That session illustrates how broader market conditions could compete with company-specific developments.
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Micron: reported earnings and stronger guidance
Benzinga reported that Micron released fiscal fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, September 30, with revenue of $54.23 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $33.42, both above the consensus estimates cited by that outlet. It also said Micron guided to current-quarter revenue of $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion, above the consensus estimate it cited.
Those reported results and guidance gave investors company-specific information to weigh in addition to macroeconomic news. The figures here are attributed to Benzinga’s recap; they are not independently verified against Micron’s investor-relations materials in the sources cited.
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What put pressure on stocks earlier in the week?
On Tuesday, September 29, stocks slipped as long-term Treasury yields rose. AP described elevated yields and oil-price volatility as pressures on the market. Higher yields can weigh on technology shares by making future earnings less attractive relative to current bond returns, but the reporting does not quantify how much yields or oil contributed to the week’s index performance.
The week therefore combined market-wide forces—bond yields, oil-market risk and shifting rate expectations—with individual semiconductor developments. Neither the Friday jobs report nor the Micron and Nvidia headlines provide a complete explanation on their own.
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What does the jobs report mean for expectations about a Fed rate hike?
The softer payroll figure led traders to reduce bets on a rate hike later in October, according to AP’s account of market pricing. It did not determine what the Federal Reserve would do: rate expectations can change as new economic data arrive, and the jobs report is only one input into policymakers’ decisions.
AP quoted Adam Schickling, senior economist at Vanguard, as saying: “This report strengthens the case for the Federal Reserve to remain patient. The labor market has not deteriorated sharply, but there is also little evidence that it has meaningfully strengthened, giving policymakers reason to wait for additional data.”
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