Market Close: Stocks Higher, Rate Hike Looms, Oil Pressure Grows • 9/11/26

0:00See NBC Business News Update. I'm Jessica Ettinger. Wall Street will open Monday morning after a winning Friday for the major averages, all three breaking a four-day losing streak. But it was a down week. On Friday, markets shook off some disturbing late-day news from the Middle East that sent oil prices ticking higher. The Dow finished Friday up 509 points. Cisco shares leading it higher, up almost 4.5%. The S &P 500 index was up 65 points. The Nasdaq added 251 points. Mostly I think it's the end of the suspense about what's happening next week. Clearly the bond market raced to that moment of pricing in.

0:40A rate hike and probably a couple more after it. The CPI data just warming up on the core to ensure you get the rate hike. I mean this market, it tries to stay in the game. Even though we're kind of watching what's going on with oil and yields. That's CNBC's Mike Santoli. On Friday, Saudi Arabia's oil minister confirmed the temporary shutdown of an east-west pipeline that became very important as oil tankers refused to sail the dangerous Strait of Hormuz, which reduced oil supply, pushing prices higher, eventually impacting gas prices for Americans. Heading into the weekend, American drivers with fresh paint at the pump, AAA saying the national average for a gallon of regular at$4.30, diesel above$6 a gallon, a new record high.

1:24And it could get worse. Longview Global's Dward Rick McNeil spoke with CNBC's Kelly Evans. This is extremely concerning when you pair this with Uthi movements around the Babel-Manda Strait. So look, this is going to have to be a global effort to mediate this because this latest news really is going to put pressure on energy markets in a way we have not seen today. Investors are expecting the Fed to raise interest rates in the coming week. Here's a take from Wells Fargo's Daryl Cronk on CNBC. If you look at the data, right, the yield curve is telling you policy is too easy. If you look at the inflation data, still way above where the Fed wants to be.

2:05Policy is too easy. Look at nominal growth. Most conservative estimates for last quarter were 6 % to 8%. That's almost 300 basis points above the policy rate. So that's telling you policy is too easy. So the Fed needs to hike rates, and I think markets knew that. The bond market certainly knew it. And I think equities are taking me in stride, quite frankly. Consumer confidence in the University of Michigan read tanked again. Comes in very, very light. 47.8, that's the weakest since May of this year. If we look at current conditions, 50.9. That's the weakest since June. If we look at what lies ahead, expectations, a big miss, 45.8.

2:46We're looking for 51. Well, that's the weakest since the all-time weakest that I had going back into the late 70s. That's CNBC's Rick Santelli. He also has the latest on inflation coming in as expected for the most part. Core numbers were hotter in the consumer price index for August. The year-over-year numbers now, 3.4 right on the dot. The low-water mark were Jan and Feb, both at 2.4 percent. Would-be homebuyers out looking over the weekend, facing mortgage rates at 7 percent again. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage crossed above 7 percent for the first time since May of 2025.

3:25Mortgage rates had hit a low of 5.99 percent the day before the war in Iran started. That's CNBC's Becky Quick. The national average on Friday, closer to 7.1 % for a 30-year fixed home loan at 7.08%, according to Mortgage News Daily. On the coming week's watch list, it's all about interest rates. Two-day Fed meeting with an announcement Wednesday afternoon. Monday night, the TV industry celebrates the Primetime Emmy Awards. Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Building a portfolio with Fidelity Basket Portfolios is kind of like making a sandwich. It's as simple as picking your stocks and ETFs, sort of like your meats and other topics, and managing it as one big, juicy investment.

4:13Now that's pretty good. Learn more at fidelity.com slash baskets. Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC. Member NYSC SIPC. Thank you.