DAILY MARKET BRIEFING 21 SEPTEMBER 2026
S&P 500 7,764.70 +1.49% NASDAQ 27,122.09 +2.26% DOW 52,048.83 +0.71% RUSSELL 2,875.36 +0.52% FTSE 10,739.00 +0.75% DAX 25,575.01 +1.07% VIX 14.87 +0.41% US 10Y 4.96% -4 bp BTC 81,284.89 +0.18% ETH 2,659.53 +0.63%
U.S. CLOSE EDITION

GRAL leads, CXW lags — U.S. market close

SharpeIQ Research Desk · data as of 21 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. GRAL led gainers at +33.68%
2 Vol. 6 semis are realizing above implied (HV/IV > 1).
3 Laggards. CXW led decliners at -8.00%.

1 Global Dashboard

Close-to-close moves across US equity indices, rates and crypto. Front-month contracts: WTI Crude -7.43%; Brent Crude -6.74%; Copper +2.87%.

Index / ContractLast1 Day1 Wk1 MoYTD52-Wk RangeTrend
US EQUITY INDICES
S&P 500 7,764.70 +1.49% +1.90% +1.62% +13.43% 6,343.72 7,798.99
Nasdaq Composite 27,122.09 +2.26% +3.57% +4.05% +16.69% 20,794.64 27,122.09
Dow Jones Industrial 52,048.83 +0.71% -0.71% -1.35% +8.29% 45,166.64 54,349.12
Russell 2000 2,875.36 +0.52% -0.58% -3.91% +15.85% 2,305.11 3,068.42
INTERNATIONAL
FTSE 100 (UK) 10,739.00 +0.75% +0.39% -0.09% +8.13% 9,299.80 10,910.60
DAX (Germany) 25,575.01 +1.07% +0.53% -2.15% +4.43% 22,300.75 26,569.99
RATES & VOLATILITY
CBOE VIX 14.87 +0.41% -13.04% -7.12% -0.54% 13.47 31.05
US 10-Year Yield 4.96% -4 bp 0 bp +27 bp +80 bp 3.95% 5.01%
US 30-Year Yield 5.30% -4 bp -3 bp +6 bp +46 bp 4.54% 5.36%
US 5-Year Yield 4.83% -2 bp +4 bp +45 bp +111 bp 3.51% 4.86%
CRYPTO (24H)
Bitcoin 81,284.89 +0.18% +6.74% +3.48% -7.11% 58,558.86 124,752.53
Ethereum 2,659.53 +0.63% +10.07% +7.81% -10.36% 1,564.82 4,687.77
ENERGY
WTI Crude 92.85 -7.43% -8.42% +5.72% +61.70% 55.27 112.95
Brent Crude 96.87 -6.74% -8.34% +3.29% +59.19% 58.92 118.35
Natural Gas 2.84 -2.54% -2.00% +3.84% -23.01% 2.52 7.46
METALS
Gold 4,379.10 -1.04% +0.63% -4.21% +0.88% 3,771.10 5,318.40
Silver 66.56 -0.00% +4.79% -2.16% -5.10% 44.70 115.08
Copper 6.80 +2.87% +7.50% +5.34% +20.87% 4.57 6.80

Table 1. Close-to-close through 21 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 227.38 +2.30% +7.78% +22.07% 30% 0th 40% 1.35
AMD Adv. Micro Devices 615.52 +9.95% +24.75% +187.41% 49% 17th 56% 1.15
AVGO Broadcom 362.66 +1.41% +5.20% +5.17% 35% 2nd 37% 1.04
AMAT Applied Materials 464.24 +4.42% +9.44% +81.10% 43% 19th 52% 1.22
TXN Texas Instruments 270.87 +1.59% +2.83% +58.76% 39% 56th 29% 0.75
MU Micron 1,043.96 +2.77% +12.98% +265.99% 58% 13th 54% 0.94
SNDK SanDisk 1,766.64 -1.41% +13.83% +644.22% 67% 4th 91% 1.35
WDC Western Digital 448.17 +1.54% +4.97% +160.35% 60% 12th 60% 1.00
STX Seagate 877.33 +2.16% +8.91% +218.58% 62% 21st 68% 1.11

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 338.98 +0.85% +25.03%
MSFT Microsoft 501.61 +1.59% +4.38%
GOOGL Alphabet 354.97 +1.55% +13.63%
AMZN Amazon 258.45 +1.87% +11.97%
META Meta Platforms 741.25 +11.34% +12.50%
TSLA Tesla 375.30 +3.03% -16.55%
NFLX Netflix 73.36 +2.19% -21.76%

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
GRAL Grail, Inc. 107.97 +33.68%
ARM Arm Holdings Plc /Uk 322.90 +17.16%
FSLY Fastly, Inc. 27.42 +14.92%
AXTI Axt Inc 79.93 +14.14%
FIVN Five9, Inc. 37.01 +13.98%
ALAB Astera Labs, Inc. 340.74 +12.36%
TOP LOSERS
TickerNameLast1 Day
CXW Corecivic, Inc. 32.41 -8.00%
NVO Novo Nordisk A S 39.80 -7.96%
RSI Rush Street Interactive, Inc. 21.57 -7.42%
ZTO Zto Express (Cayman) Inc. 19.45 -7.20%
MHK Mohawk Industries Inc 117.27 -7.00%
BBT Beacon Financial Corp 28.75 -6.75%

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
TXN Texas Instruments Inc 39% +2.22% 56th
MU Micron Technology Inc 58% +1.27% 13th
AVGO Broadcom Inc. 35% +1.11% 2nd
ATM IV CRUSH
TickerNameATM IVΔ 1 DayIV %ile
AMAT Applied Materials Inc /De 43% -6.19% 19th
WDC Western Digital Corp 60% -3.02% 12th
SNDK Sandisk Corp 67% -2.06% 4th
STX Seagate Technology Holdings Plc 62% -1.75% 21st
AMD Advanced Micro Devices Inc 49% -1.59% 17th

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 IEX, CRBG, EQH.

Insider buy/sell ratio today 0.38 parity 1.00
FORM 4 FILINGS
FiledInsider · TitleTickerNameSideSharesValue
09-18 Tereso Tara M. · Group Executive, HST IEX Idex Corp /De/ SELL 290 $65K
09-18 Simmons William L. · Group Executive, FMT & FSDP IEX Idex Corp /De/ SELL 218 $49K
09-18 NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE CO · 10% Owner CRBG Corebridge Financial, Inc. BUY 320,785 $11.2M
09-18 MacKay Craig C · Director EQH Equitable Holdings, Inc. SELL 2,000 $109K
09-18 Cardenuto Rodolpho C · Director SMTC Semtech Corp SELL 5,321 $878K
09-18 Vohra Tajinder S · Please See Remarks RVTY Revvity, Inc. SELL 7,330 $1.0M

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

DESK BRIEFING
• TSLA — Tesla faces major trial for alleged bias against Black workers, after years of lawsuits · Reuters.
• NVDA — Stock Market Today: Dow Rallies 450 Points As Oil Prices, Treasury Yields Fall; Nvidia Extends Gains (Live Coverage) · Investor's Business Daily.
• AAPL — Apple's $1,999 foldable iPhone creates strange twist for Samsung · TheStreet.
• 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.
• MU — A $2.75 Billion Reason to Buy Micron Stock · Barchart.
• TSLA — Dear Tesla Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for September 30 · Barchart.
• NVO — Novo Nordisk (CPSE:NOVO B) Unveiled A 2030 Blockbuster Drug Plan · Simply Wall St..
THE WEEK AHEAD
WhenEvent
Tue 22 Sep AZO earnings — today
Wed 23 Sep CTAS earnings — tomorrow
Wed 23 Sep GIS earnings — tomorrow
Wed 23 Sep PAYX earnings — tomorrow
Thu 24 Sep HM-B.ST earnings — in 2 days
Thu 24 Sep DRI earnings — in 2 days
Thu 24 Sep COST earnings — in 2 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 21 SEPTEMBER 2026