Markets today: durable goods now, Core PCE on Wednesday

Wall Street heads into the final session of the week with one marquee data point and a lineup of Fed speakers, then a longer wait for the release that will shape the days ahead. Durable goods orders land at 8:30 a.m. ET. From there the calendar quiets until Wednesday, when the Core PCE price index prints alongside a final reading on GDP. Job openings on Tuesday and the month’s income and spending figures on Wednesday round out the schedule. Bonds set the tone. The 10-year Treasury yield closed Thursday at 5.11%.

On the calendar today

Durable goods orders are the day’s high-importance release, out at 8:30 a.m. ET, with forecasts calling for a 0.4% decline after a 1.1% gain the prior month. The reading excluding transportation, published at the same time, is seen up 0.6% against a prior 0.4%. Then the Fed speaks. Three officials are on the schedule: Williams at 5:15 a.m. ET, Schmid at 9:20 a.m., and Hammack at 2:00 p.m. The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index follows at 10:00 a.m. ET, forecast at 47.6 against a prior 51.7. Durable goods orders track new bookings for long-lasting manufactured items, from aircraft to household appliances, so the reading excluding transportation strips out the lumpy contracts that can dominate the headline. The Michigan survey measures how households feel about their own finances and the broader economy.

Stocks flat, yields higher into Friday

Stocks barely moved Thursday. The S&P 500 eased 0.02% to 7,704.13. The Dow slipped 0.31% to 51,349.98, a drop of 161.61 points, and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.01% to 26,939.37. The action was in rates and volatility. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.11%, and the Cboe Volatility Index dropped 3.96% to 15.05.

The week ahead

• Tuesday, Sept. 29: JOLTS job openings at 10:00 a.m. ET (prior 7.271 million).
• Wednesday, Sept. 30: a data-heavy 8:30 a.m. ET brings the Core PCE price index (forecast +0.3%, prior +0.2%), the final GDP growth rate (forecast 1.6%, prior 2.1%), personal spending (forecast +0.8%, prior +0.2%), and personal income (forecast +0.4%, prior +0.4%). Micron reports the same day.

What to watch

Rates stay front of mind. The 10-year yield sits above 5% after climbing 0.15 percentage point on Thursday, and the durable-goods report is the first hard data to test it. Fed commentary runs through the session, giving markets several chances to hear how officials read the path from here. The speakers carry the day’s policy signal.

Large-cap technology also kept its grip on the tape. Meta Platforms led Thursday’s gainers, up 4.5%, while Arm sat at the other end with a 7.9% drop. The split kept the AI trade in the frame as the quarter winds down.

This is a general-market summary for information only — not investment advice, and not a recommendation regarding any security.