---
title: "Banks fall 2% in the Fed's first hike week as Nasdaq-100 logs a fifth gain"
url: "https://etf.net/news/banks-fall-2-in-the-fed-s-first-hike-week-as-nasdaq-100-logs-a-fifth-gain-2026-09-22"
published_at: "2026-09-22T20:50:53.131Z"
updated_at: "2026-09-22T20:50:53.131Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# Banks fall 2% in the Fed's first hike week as Nasdaq-100 logs a fifth gain

The S&P 500 finished unchanged Tuesday, September 22, 2026, as financials dropped 2.0% and offset a 0.8% fifth-session rise in Nasdaq-100 fund QQQ.

By ETF.net Research. Published Sep 22, 2026.

The S&P 500 lost **0.43 points** to **7,764.27** at the 4 p.m. ET close, a move so small it reads as a quiet day. It was not. This is the week that started with [the Federal Reserve's first rate increase since 2023](https://etf.net/news/fed-signals-another-hike-after-raising-rates-25-basis-points-dow-falls-1-2-2026-09-16), a unanimous quarter-point lift to a **3.75%–4.00%** funds-rate target. The financials fund XLF fell **2.0%** on its heaviest volume of the past 20 sessions, the energy fund XLE dropped for a third day, and those two sleeves canceled another advance in semiconductors. Nasdaq-100 fund QQQ rose **0.8%**, its fifth consecutive gain, and closed **0.2%** from its 52-week high. The S&P 500 fund SPY holds **12%** in financials; QQQ holds **0.2%**. That construction gap, not a broad market decision, is why one fund finished higher and the other did not.

Six of 11 Select Sector SPDR funds closed up, and **3,451** of **5,569** priced U.S.-listed ETFs finished higher. Equal-weight S&P 500 fund RSP was as inert as its cap-weighted cousin, up less than **0.1%**. The split was by industry, not by company size.

Chart: **Materials** led; **financials** closed last

Table: Exposure, Fund, Tuesday, 5 sessions

The five-session column runs from the hike through Tuesday.

Chart: **Nasdaq-100** rose after the hike; **financials** and **oil** fell

## JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Schwab

JPMorgan Chase fell **3.4%** to $340 and subtracted **0.40 percentage points** from XLF, where it is an **11.8%** holding. Wells Fargo dropped **3.9%**, Bank of America **3.0%**. Charles Schwab, at a **2.2%** weight, fell **6.1%** and was the fourth-largest drag. Visa lost **2.1%**. Regional-bank fund KRE declined **1.1%**, a milder move than the large-cap financial sleeve.

JPMorgan still fell after announcing a $20 billion partnership with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. Bank of America had already guided third-quarter investment-banking fees to **$1.6 billion** to **$1.8 billion** against **$2.0 billion** a year earlier, a sequential softening Reuters reported last week. Benzinga said traders were rotating into technology Tuesday, citing concern that AI shopping agents could disrupt payments and financial names. The 10-year Treasury yield sits at **4.96%**, and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said Tuesday that one increase may not be enough if this year's price shocks persist. Berkshire Hathaway, the fund's largest line at **12%**, rose **0.3%** and did not offset the banks.

XLF is up **1.3%** this year, distributions included. QQQ is up **22%**. Tuesday extended a gap that has been building all year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell **185 points**, or **0.4%**, to **51,864**. JPMorgan is a 4.0% member of Dow fund DIA and took **0.14 percentage points** off that fund; Goldman Sachs, at **10.8%**, subtracted another **0.11**. Amgen rose **4.3%** and was the Dow's largest positive contributor. A price-weighted index that leans on banks and Caterpillar still closed lower.

## Micron, SanDisk and the Nasdaq-100

Semiconductor fund SMH added **1.9%**, a slower session than [Monday's 4.0% jump](https://etf.net/news/nasdaq-rises-2-3-as-meta-and-chipmakers-lead-oil-extends-a-four-day-drop-2026-09-21) and still the engine of the Nasdaq-100's five-day, **6.1%** climb. Micron Technology rose **5.0%** and contributed **0.25 percentage points** to QQQ, more than any other holding; it is a **4.9%** position there. SanDisk gained **6.8%** after Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage at buy with a $2,400 price target. Advanced Micro Devices rose **1.3%** to $624, tagging a 52-week high, and remains above $1 trillion of market value. Nvidia added **0.7%**. The technology sector fund XLK rose **0.7%** for a fifth session.

Communications fund XLC fell **1.1%** on some of its heaviest volume in 20 sessions. Meta Platforms, **20%** of that fund and Monday's leader, slipped **0.6%**. Alphabet Class A lost **1.1%**.

All 25 semiconductor ETFs in the desk's theme group closed higher. So did all 17 biotech-and-genomics funds. Viking Therapeutics, a **1.0%** holding in biotech fund XBI, rose **36%** after the company said a maintenance study of its VK2735 obesity drug showed **22%** placebo-adjusted weight loss at week 33.

The Nasdaq Composite added **122 points**, or **0.5%**, to **27,244**. The Nasdaq-100 rose **250 points** to **30,732**; its session high of **30,770.63** matched its 52-week high. The Russell 2000 gained **0.5%** to **2,890**.

## Crude's fifth decline, and a Hormuz report

West Texas Intermediate last traded at **$89.88** a barrel as of 4:40 p.m. ET, down **2.7%** from the prior settle. Oil fund USO closed **2.8%** lower, its fifth consecutive decline and an **11%** drop over those five sessions, on some of its heaviest volume in 20 sessions. XLE fell **1.1%**, led by refiners: Valero lost **4.1%** and Marathon Petroleum **3.2%**. Exxon Mobil, a **23%** holding, eked out a **0.2%** gain and did not rescue the fund.

Reuters reported a senior Iranian official said Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days if the United States eased military pressure and lifted its blockade. CNBC, citing a report that Iran had offered to reopen the waterway within seven days, said that account had not been independently confirmed. Crude has now given back a large share of last week's spike, when WTI traded near $106 around a Saudi pipeline shutdown. President Trump, on the same afternoon, said he backed a ban on diesel exports and that a decision would come "fast, one way or the other." The crude complex still closed lower.

## Newmont and gold miners

Materials fund XLB was the day's best sector fund, up **1.6%**. Newmont contributed **0.24 percentage points**. Gold-miners fund GDX rose **3.6%**, and all 18 precious-metals-miner ETFs in the desk's theme group closed higher. Gold fund GLD gained **0.4%**; gold futures were at **$4,397.20** as of 4:20 p.m. ET, up **0.3%**.

The Richmond Fed said Fifth District manufacturing edged down in September, with its composite index dropping to **-2** from **4** in August as shipments and new orders turned negative.

A VIX at 14 and an S&P 500 that did not move are a poor description of a **3.6-percentage-point** gap between materials and financials. If you hold the cap-weighted index, Tuesday was a rounding error. If you hold banks or oil, the week that started with the hike got more expensive. If you hold the Nasdaq-100, Monday's chip session simply ran into a fifth day.

Source: etf.net, https://etf.net/news/banks-fall-2-in-the-fed-s-first-hike-week-as-nasdaq-100-logs-a-fifth-gain-2026-09-22. Please cite the page URL.