S&P 500 down 0.45% — Market Pulse · Sep 16, 2026

Stocks ended mixed on Sept. 16 after the Federal Reserve released its FOMC statement and economic projections. The S&P 500 closed at 7551.81, down 0.45%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.21% to 51461.9, the Russell 2000 slipped 0.40% to 2858.81, and the Nasdaq Composite was nearly unchanged at 25978.42, down 0.01%.

Key Takeaways

• S&P 500 closed down 0.45% at 7,551.81.
• Market breadth finished with 159 advancers, 342 decliners, and a 0.465 advance/decline ratio.
• Technology led sectors at +0.10%, while Energy lagged at -2.88%.
• VIX ended at 17.71 in the latest five-session lookback.
• SPY’s first resistance is 759.77 and first support is 755.63.

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Market Breadth: Fed day left indexes mixed, but weak breadth told a softer story

Metric	Sep 10	Sep 11	Sep 14	Sep 15	Sep 16
Advance/Decline Ratio	0.508	2.105	1.292	0.472	0.465
Advances	168	341	283	161	159
Declines	331	162	219	341	342
Advancing Volume	35.5%	66.5%	45.7%	34.6%	36.1%
Stocks Near 52-Week Highs	1	5	6	17	5
Stocks Near 52-Week Lows	19	14	7	20	22
% Above 20-Day MA	17.9%	25.3%	26.4%	24.1%	19.1%
% Above 50-Day MA	33.6%	39.2%	38.6%	35.4%	32.2%
% Above 200-Day MA	57.5%	59.2%	59.1%	56.5%	53.3%

Under the surface, participation stayed weak. Decliners beat advancers 342 to 159, for an advance-decline ratio of 0.465, while advancing volume was 36.14%. Only 5 stocks were near 52-week highs versus 21 near 52-week lows, and just 19.09% of stocks were above their 20-day moving averages. That was down from 24.06% on Sept. 15 and 26.44% on Sept. 14.

Explore the full dashboard: Market breadth.

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Market Performance: Major Indexes

Index	Close	Change	% Change
S&P 500	7,551.81	-33.92	-0.45%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	51,461.90	-631.21	-1.21%
Nasdaq Composite	25,978.42	-3.15	-0.01%
Russell 2000	2,858.81	-11.48	-0.40%

Five-session context:

Index	Sep 10	Sep 11	Sep 14	Sep 15	Sep 16
S&P 500	-0.58%	+0.86%	-0.48%	-0.45%	-0.45%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	-0.60%	+0.98%	-0.29%	-0.63%	-1.21%
Nasdaq Composite	-0.65%	+0.96%	-0.56%	-0.78%	-0.01%
Russell 2000	-1.04%	+0.45%	-0.40%	-0.76%	-0.40%

The Dow showed the heaviest pressure, falling 631.21 points, while the Nasdaq held almost flat with just a 3.15 point decline. Over the last five sessions, the tone has been choppy but net weaker. The S&P 500 fell in four of the past five sessions, and the Russell 2000 also declined in four of five.

Explore the full dashboard: Market snapshot.

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Sector View: Leaders and Laggards

• Leaders: Technology (XLK +0.10%), Health Care (XLV +0.07%), Utilities (XLU 0.00%), Industrials (XLI -0.08%), Consumer Staples (XLP -0.48%)
• Laggards: Energy (XLE -2.88%), Financials (XLF -1.62%), Communication Services (XLC -0.90%), Materials (XLB -0.73%), Consumer Discretionary (XLY -0.63%)

Leadership was narrow. Technology rose 0.10% and Health Care added 0.07%, while Utilities were flat. On the downside, Energy fell 2.88%, Financials dropped 1.62%, and Communication Services lost 0.90%. That mix helps explain why the Nasdaq held up better than the Dow.

Explore the full dashboard: Sector performance.

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Volatility: VIX and ETF Implied Volatility

Metric	Sep 10	Sep 11	Sep 14	Sep 15	Sep 16
VIX Level	17.84	15.84	17.10	17.20	17.71

• SPY IV: 13.44% (Low)
• QQQ IV: 17.66% (Normal)
• IWM IV: 18.04% (Normal)
• DIA IV: 14.84% (Low)

Volatility firmed but did not show panic. The VIX closed at 17.71, up from 17.2 on Sept. 15 and 15.84 on Sept. 11. ETF implied volatility still looked contained, with SPY at 13.44% and DIA at 14.84%, both labeled Low, while QQQ at 17.66% and IWM at 18.04% were Normal.

Explore the full dashboard: Volatility.

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Headlines Moving Markets

The main scheduled driver was the Federal Reserve. The market also received the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Open Market Committee economic projections from the Sept. 15-16 meeting. With an official FOMC release on the tape, the mixed index finish and weak internals suggest investors were selective rather than broadly risk-on.

• Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement
• Federal Reserve Board and Federal Open Market Committee release economic projections from the September 15-16 FOMC meeting
• Yield on 10-year Treasury hovers above 5% as investors await Fed decision
• Fed delivers its first hike in 3 years. Plus, what’s moving Starbucks and GE Vernova
• US officials met Iran-backed Houthis in Oman over the weekend, sources say - Reuters
• Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Wednesday
• Lagging sector looks poised for a rebound. Here’s how Mike Khouw is trading it
• Strait of Hormuz ship crossings remain in single digits, data shows - Reuters
• U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, July 2026
• US House passes Russia sanctions bill championed by late Senator Graham - Reuters
• Boeing CEO: 737 Max production taking ‘a little bit longer’ to stabilize than expected
• Jim Cramer says this enterprise software stock is ‘way too cheap’

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Technical Snapshot (SPY)

Level	Sep 10	Sep 11	Sep 14	Sep 15	Sep 16
20-day SMA	768.25	767.52	766.84	766.06	765.30
50-day SMA	757.99	758.21	758.58	758.90	759.02
200-day SMA	710.91	711.46	712.01	712.50	712.94

Near-term pivot structure, based on 2026-09-15:

• Resistance: 759.77 (R1), then 762.11 (R2)
• Pivot: 757.97
• Support: 755.63 (S1), then 753.83 (S2)

For SPY, the reference pivot was 757.97, with support at 755.63 and 753.83, and resistance at 759.77 and 762.11. The 50-day simple moving average was 759.02, while the 20-day sat higher at 765.3. Across the last five sessions, the 20-day average drifted down from 768.25 to 765.3, while the 50-day edged up from 757.99 to 759.02.

Explore the full dashboard: Support & Resistance levels.

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What to Watch Next

• Breadth first: whether the advance-decline ratio can recover from 0.465 after two straight sessions near 0.47.
• SPY versus 755.63 support and the 757.97 pivot.
• Small caps remain a pressure point, with the Russell 2000 at 2858.81 after losses in four of the last five sessions.
• Sector rotation after Energy fell 2.88% and Financials lost 1.62%, while Technology still managed a 0.10% gain.
• Volatility behavior, with the VIX at 17.71 and SPY implied volatility still low at 13.44%.

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Bottom Line

Sept. 16 was not a broad washout in the indexes, but the internals stayed soft. A nearly flat Nasdaq masked weak participation, falling short-term breadth, and notable pressure in the Dow, Energy, and Financials. Near term, the key question is whether breadth stabilizes or the recent pattern of narrow resilience continues.

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Market Pulse provides daily analysis of S&P 500 market breadth, sector rotation, and volatility signals to help investors understand what’s happening beneath the surface. Data sourced from our real-time market breadth collectors. For personalized planning, explore our retirement calculators, investment tools, and FIRE planning resources.

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