DAILY MARKET BRIEFING 18 SEPTEMBER 2026
S&P 500 7,650.50 +0.17% NASDAQ 26,522.54 +0.39% DOW 51,682.64 -0.18% RUSSELL 2,860.40 -0.50% FTSE 10,659.10 -1.45% DAX 25,304.06 -1.60% VIX 14.81 -4.08% US 10Y 5.00% +5 bp BTC 80,901.46 +5.89% ETH 2,611.35 +6.71%
U.S. CLOSE EDITION

MSTR leads, XENE lags — U.S. market close

SharpeIQ Research Desk · data as of 18 Sep 2026 close

A close-to-close read on the latest session across US equity indices, rates, commodities, the semiconductor complex and options volatility, with notable insider filings and headlines.

1 Movers. MSTR led gainers at +16.39%
2 Vol. 6 semis are realizing above implied (HV/IV > 1).
3 Laggards. XENE led decliners at -30.69%.

1 Global Dashboard

Close-to-close moves across US equity indices, rates and crypto. Front-month contracts: Silver +1.66%; WTI Crude -1.58%; Brent Crude -0.91%.

Index / ContractLast1 Day1 Wk1 MoYTD52-Wk RangeTrend
US EQUITY INDICES
S&P 500 7,650.50 +0.17% -0.08% -0.75% +11.76% 6,343.72 7,798.99
Nasdaq Composite 26,522.54 +0.39% +0.72% +0.73% +14.11% 20,794.64 27,093.90
Dow Jones Industrial 51,682.64 -0.18% -1.69% -3.33% +7.53% 45,166.64 54,349.12
Russell 2000 2,860.40 -0.50% -1.50% -5.69% +15.25% 2,305.11 3,068.42
INTERNATIONAL
FTSE 100 (UK) 10,659.10 -1.45% +0.08% -0.78% +7.33% 9,284.80 10,910.60
DAX (Germany) 25,304.06 -1.60% -1.03% -2.61% +3.32% 22,300.75 26,569.99
RATES & VOLATILITY
CBOE VIX 14.81 -4.08% -6.50% -0.54% -0.94% 13.47 31.05
US 10-Year Yield 5.00% +5 bp +2 bp +35 bp +84 bp 3.95% 5.01%
US 30-Year Yield 5.33% +4 bp -2 bp +14 bp +49 bp 4.54% 5.36%
US 5-Year Yield 4.86% +5 bp +6 bp +50 bp +113 bp 3.51% 4.86%
CRYPTO (24H)
Bitcoin 80,901.46 +5.89% +5.29% +3.95% -7.55% 58,558.86 124,752.53
Ethereum 2,611.35 +6.71% +5.42% +6.91% -11.99% 1,564.82 4,687.77
ENERGY
WTI Crude 100.30 -1.58% +0.25% +16.86% +74.68% 55.27 112.95
Brent Crude 103.87 -0.91% -0.71% +13.37% +70.70% 58.92 118.35
Natural Gas 2.91 +0.38% +2.86% +3.48% -21.00% 2.52 7.46
METALS
Gold 4,424.90 +0.57% +0.36% -2.65% +1.93% 3,768.10 5,318.40
Silver 66.56 +1.66% +3.10% +1.25% -5.10% 43.78 115.08
Copper 6.62 +0.43% +2.25% +1.97% +17.50% 4.57 6.80

Table 1. Close-to-close through 18 Sep. Rate changes in basis points; crypto is 24-hour; commodities are front-month contracts. Trend = trailing two weeks.

2 Semiconductors & Technology

Semiconductor and megacap-tech price action by horizon.

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPLEX — PRICE & VOLATILITY
TickerNameSpot1 Day1 WkYTDATM IVIV %ile30d HVHV/IV
NVDA NVIDIA 222.27 +1.34% +1.82% +19.32% 33% 7th 40% 1.23
AMD Adv. Micro Devices 559.82 +2.70% +8.46% +161.40% 49% 17th 50% 1.02
AVGO Broadcom 357.61 +2.97% -1.21% +3.71% 35% 2nd 37% 1.04
AMAT Applied Materials 444.57 +6.51% -2.61% +73.42% 43% 19th 51% 1.19
TXN Texas Instruments 266.64 +3.29% -0.77% +56.28% 38% 51st 30% 0.79
MU Micron 1,015.80 +3.92% +4.16% +256.11% 59% 15th 54% 0.92
SNDK SanDisk 1,791.82 +10.99% +9.70% +654.83% 68% 6th 93% 1.36
WDC Western Digital 441.36 +4.13% -1.30% +156.39% 63% 17th 61% 0.97
STX Seagate 858.79 +6.93% +3.45% +211.84% 65% 30th 70% 1.07

Table 2. Price by horizon + at-the-money implied vol (≈30-day, annualized), 52-week IV percentile, trailing 30-session realized vol and HV/IV. HV/IV > 1.0 (highlighted) = realizing more than implied. Memory/storage tickers highlighted.

MEGACAP TECHNOLOGY
TickerNameSpot1 DayYTDTrend
AAPL Apple 336.13 -0.26% +23.98%
MSFT Microsoft 493.78 -0.80% +2.75%
GOOGL Alphabet 349.54 +0.64% +11.89%
AMZN Amazon 253.71 +1.00% +9.92%
META Meta Platforms 665.75 -2.43% +1.04%
TSLA Tesla 364.27 -0.53% -19.00%
NFLX Netflix 71.79 -4.67% -23.43%

Table 3. Same conventions as Table 2 (price only).

IMPLIED VS REALIZED — SEMIS
2020404060608080100100IV = HV · parityNVDAAMDAVGOAMATTXNMUSNDKWDCSTX Implied volatility (%) 30-day realized vol (%)
Figure 1. Above the dashed parity line = realizing more than options imply. Memory/storage highlighted.

3 Session Movers

The session's largest one-day moves in the liquid optionable universe.

TOP GAINERS
TickerNameLast1 Day
MSTR Strategy Inc 153.92 +16.39%
BTDR Bitdeer Technologies Group 12.97 +15.39%
MARA Mara Holdings, Inc. 13.24 +13.75%
COIN Coinbase Global, Inc. 194.25 +11.66%
KEEL Keel Infrastructure Corp. 4.01 +11.08%
SNDK Sandisk Corp 1,791.82 +10.99%
TOP LOSERS
TickerNameLast1 Day
XENE Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. 39.75 -30.69%
SMR Nuscale Power Corp 8.27 -8.52%
RSI Rush Street Interactive, Inc. 23.30 -7.72%
BTU Peabody Energy Corp 25.22 -7.42%
TNGX Tango Therapeutics, Inc. 21.75 -7.41%
ALKS Alkermes Plc. 43.39 -7.11%

Table 4. Largest one-day moves, liquid U.S. optionable universe (known market cap ≥ $2B). Bars scaled within each panel.

4 Options & Implied Volatility

ATM implied-volatility movers and the semiconductor vol board.

ATM IV RISERS
TickerNameATM IVΔ 1 DayIV %ile
AVGO Broadcom Inc. 35% +1.11% 2nd
MU Micron Technology Inc 59% +0.63% 15th
SNDK Sandisk Corp 68% +0.63% 6th
ATM IV CRUSH
TickerNameATM IVΔ 1 DayIV %ile
AMAT Applied Materials Inc /De 43% -6.19% 19th
STX Seagate Technology Holdings Plc 65% -2.38% 30th
AMD Advanced Micro Devices Inc 49% -1.59% 17th
WDC Western Digital Corp 63% -0.79% 17th
TXN Texas Instruments Inc 38% -0.63% 51st

Table 5. ATM implied-volatility movers across the semiconductor complex — Δ in vol points vs. prior close; percentile over 52 weeks.

5 Insider Filings, Desk Briefing & Week Ahead

Form 4 flow today: 11 buy / 29 sell prints (buy/sell ratio 0.38), led by DUOL, NVDA.

Insider buy/sell ratio today 0.38 parity 1.00
FORM 4 FILINGS
FiledInsider · TitleTickerNameSideSharesValue
09-18 von Ahn Luis · Director, President & CEO, Co-Founder, 10% Owner DUOL Duolingo, Inc. BUY 23,040 $332K
09-18 von Ahn Luis · Director, President & CEO, Co-Founder, 10% Owner DUOL Duolingo, Inc. BUY 5,252 $200K
09-18 von Ahn Luis · Director, President & CEO, Co-Founder, 10% Owner DUOL Duolingo, Inc. SELL 27,272 $4.1M
09-18 von Ahn Luis · Director, President & CEO, Co-Founder, 10% Owner DUOL Duolingo, Inc. SELL 1,020 $155K
09-18 GAWEL SCOTT · Principal Accounting Officer NVDA Nvidia Corp SELL 2,932 $622K
09-18 Shoquist Debora · EVP, Operations NVDA Nvidia Corp SELL 35,008 $7.4M

Table 6. Notable Form 4 filings; value = reported transaction value.

DESK BRIEFING
• AAPL — Your iPhone gives Apple an advantage you may not be comfortable with. · TheStreet.
• AVGO — Jim Cramer shares a strong verdict on Broadcom stock for investors · TheStreet.
• AAPL — Jim Cramer sends strong signal to Apple stock investors · TheStreet.
• AMZN — Bank of America resets Amazon stock forecast on delivery plan · TheStreet.
• AMZN — Amazon cargo delivery company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy · TheStreet.
• TSLA — Dear Tesla Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for September 30 · Barchart.
• GOOGL — What Does Alphabet (GOOGL) Face In This New AI Safety Lawsuit? · Simply Wall St..
• COIN — Coinbase (COIN) Says Custom AI Agents Drove Most Trading Activity Last Week · Simply Wall St..
THE WEEK AHEAD
WhenEvent
Tue 22 Sep AZO earnings — tomorrow
Wed 23 Sep CTAS earnings — in 2 days
Wed 23 Sep GIS earnings — in 2 days
Wed 23 Sep PAYX earnings — in 2 days
Thu 24 Sep DRI earnings — in 3 days
Thu 24 Sep COST earnings — in 3 days

Table 7. Upcoming earnings, next three weeks.

For informational purposes only — not investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Data may contain errors or omissions.

DAILY MARKET BRIEFING sharpeiq.com/research 18 SEPTEMBER 2026