The S&P 500 slipped 0.07% as utilities closed at a 52-week low
On Thursday, September 24, 2026, the communication services fund rose 1.3% as Meta gained 4.5%; the materials fund fell 1.2%.
Key takeaways
The S&P 500 fund SPY slipped 0.07% on Thursday. The equal-weight S&P 500 fund RSP fell 0.50%. That 0.43 percentage-point gap is what the day cost a holder who does not own Meta and Eli Lilly.
Over one month the same split is the story. SPY is up 0.4%. RSP is down 4.8%. Eight of the eleven sector funds are negative over that stretch. Utilities are down 8.4%, real estate down 7.3%. Thursday did not reverse it.
Meta and Lilly
The communication services fund XLC rose 1.3%. Meta Platforms, 22.5% of the fund, gained 4.5% after it unveiled a palm-sized device for its Muse assistant and added 1.01 percentage points on its own. The two Alphabet share classes added 0.26. Meta has set this fund's direction all week. It carried communications 3.5% higher on Monday.
XLC jumped Monday, faded, then bounced Thursday
The health-care fund XLV rose 0.6%. Eli Lilly, 15% of that fund, gained 2.9% after the FDA approved Onswik, a once-weekly insulin for adults with type 2 diabetes. Lilly added 0.43 percentage points.
Three of the eleven sector funds finished higher. Energy was the third.
Energy rose 0.4% as crude gained 3.3%
West Texas Intermediate was at $95.19, up 3.3%. Brent crude was at $107.45, up 4.2%. The energy fund XLE rose 0.4%. Exxon Mobil and Chevron are 41% of the fund.
Refiners and producers gained; services and pipelines fell
Houthi missiles aimed at Saudi Arabia lifted crude in the morning, when WTI traded at $96.35; the spike faded on reports that the US and Iran had discussed reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The fund is already up 42.8% this year.
Utilities closed at a 52-week low
The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.18% on Thursday, up 7 basis points after Wednesday's 15-basis-point jump to 5.11%. The 30-year closed at 5.47%, up 7 basis points, the highest since 2004. Jobless claims printed at 197,000 and August new-home sales at a 684,000 annual rate; the Treasury's seven-year auction cleared at 5.085% as the bid-to-cover fell to 2.42. New York Fed President John Williams said another hike by year-end would be "reasonable." The utilities fund XLU fell 1.0% and closed at $39.36, its 52-week low.
XLU fell from $42.39 to $39.36 in two weeks
NextEra Energy, 12.9% of the fund, dropped 1.8%.
The US real estate fund VNQ fell another 0.3%, after Wednesday's 2.3% decline. The consumer staples fund XLP dropped 0.9%, with Walmart, an 11% holding, down 2.7%. Materials XLB finished last, down 1.2%.
The technology fund VGT fell 0.3%. The Nasdaq-100 fund QQQ finished unchanged. It holds Meta. The technology fund does not.
Thursday against the month that is still running:
The 10-year would have to stop adding basis points for this month to end. It added 7 more on Thursday.
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Frequently asked questions
Why did SPY hold up while the equal-weight fund fell?
Meta and Eli Lilly carried the cap-weighted index, a gap of 0.43 percentage points on Thursday.
Why did Meta gain 4.5%?
It unveiled a palm-sized device for its Muse assistant.
What pushed utilities to a 52-week low?
The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.18%, up 7 basis points, and the utilities fund fell 1.0% to $39.36.
Why did crude rise?
Houthi missiles aimed at Saudi Arabia lifted crude in the morning, though the spike faded on reports the US and Iran had discussed reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
