---
title: "Financials rise 1.5% after Waller says wait; energy falls with oil still higher"
url: "https://etf.net/news/financials-rise-1-5-after-waller-says-wait-energy-falls-with-oil-still-higher-2026-09-03"
published_at: "2026-09-03T21:38:12.320Z"
updated_at: "2026-09-03T21:38:12.320Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# Financials rise 1.5% after Waller says wait; energy falls with oil still higher

The financials fund XLF rose 1.54% on Thursday, September 3, 2026, after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said the Fed could wait a meeting if inflation cools; the energy fund XLE fell 0.71%.

By ETF.net Research. Published Sep 3, 2026.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Thursday, "Give disinflation a chance. We can wait one meeting." He tied that wait to continued progress toward 2% inflation, and said he would consider a hike if the August data come in hot. Odds of a September rate increase fell to **48.4%**, down about 15 percentage points from Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury yield fell **3.4 basis points** to 4.76%. The financials fund XLF rose **1.5%**, the most among the 11 sector funds, and closed within 0.1% of its 52-week high. The energy fund XLE, up 12.8% over the past month, fell 0.7% even as October West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $91.30 a barrel, up 0.32%, as of 5 p.m. Eastern.

Chart: **Financials** led all 11 sector funds Thursday

## Robinhood nearly matches JPMorgan in financials

Robinhood Markets jumped **16.6%** as analysts raised their views on the broker. It is **1.0%** of XLF and contributed 0.17 percentage points, nearly as much as JPMorgan Chase, **11.7%** of the fund, which rose 1.6% and contributed 0.19 percentage points. Goldman Sachs added 3.3%. Robinhood and the banks are why the financials fund led the board; the cleaner rate trade sat next door. Thursday's gain was larger than the fund's entire 1.0% one-month advance.

The real estate fund XLRE bounced **1.2%**, snapping six down sessions through Wednesday, with CBRE, American Tower, and Equinix in front. The utilities fund XLU added **0.84%**.

## Tesla does two-thirds of discretionary's gain

Tesla rose **5.4%** ahead of Thursday evening's Cybercab unveiling in Austin, the production version of its purpose-built robotaxi. At **17%** of the consumer discretionary fund XLY, it accounted for two-thirds of that fund's **1.4%** gain. Amazon, the fund's largest holding at **24%**, added **1.5%**. Booking Holdings, DoorDash, and Chipotle all declined.

The same fund had fallen **1.7%** on Tuesday. Thursday recouped most of that drop. Discretionary is still down **2.1%** year to date and **1.8%** over one month. One concentrated session does not repair that.

## Nvidia's Hugging Face deal, Broadcom's guide

The technology fund XLK rose **1.3%**. Microsoft, **10%** of the fund, gained **2.7%** and was the largest contributor. Nvidia rose **1.8%** after agreeing to acquire Hugging Face, the open-source model platform, for **$12.93 billion**. Palantir jumped **7.7%** and, at **2.6%** of the fund, added almost as much as Nvidia did.

Broadcom, **4.7%** of XLK, fell **2.7%** and took **0.13 percentage points** off. After the close Wednesday it guided to **$34.8 billion** of current-quarter revenue, below the **$35.05 billion** consensus. The technology fund is up **29.5%** year to date and was flat over the past month; Thursday was a Microsoft-and-Nvidia session with a semiconductor hangover inside it.

Meta Platforms rose **3.0%** and did more than half the work in the communication services fund XLC, which gained **0.87%**. Charter Communications fell **4.8%** and was the offset.

## Energy fund falls as oil futures hold above $91

The U.S. oil futures fund USO rose **0.67%**. The energy fund still fell **0.7%**. Exxon Mobil, **20%** of XLE, fell **1.2%** and accounted for about a third of that decline. EOG Resources, ConocoPhillips, and SLB also dropped. Valero was one of the few gainers. The fund is still up **46.5%** year to date. Thursday was a pause in that run, not a break in it.

The materials fund XLB fell **0.62%** even as gold futures rose **2.8%** to **$4,539.90** an ounce as of 5 p.m. Eastern and Newmont gained **4.2%**. Linde, Freeport-McMoRan, Dow, and Albemarle more than offset the miner. The consumer staples fund XLP slipped **0.32%**. Tyson Foods fell **7.3%** and was the largest drag; Mondelez and Kraft Heinz also declined. Walmart's **2.2%** rise was not enough.

The industrials fund XLI rose **1.0%** on **1.5 times** usual volume, a high-attention bounce after a **6.3%** one-month drop, led by GE Vernova and Vertiv.

The S&P 500 fund SPY gained **1.05%**. The equal-weight S&P 500 fund RSP rose **0.66%**, and the Russell 2000 fund IWM **0.39%**. Thursday paid the large names in banks, Tesla, and the technology platforms more than it paid a broader book, and it did not pay the funds that had been compounding $90 oil.

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