Market Midday: Stocks Rise, Iran Offers US Deal, Consumer Sentiment Slips • 9/25/26

0:01CNBC Business News Update Friday afternoon. I'm Jessica Ettinger. Wall Street is higher. Investors hoping a new offer from Iran might lead to an end to the U.S.-Iran war. About to enter its eighth month on Monday. Treasury yields are still higher. The yield on the 10-year, eyeing 5.2 percent this afternoon, sitting at 5.18. Checking the major averages, the Dow is up 425 points. That's eight-tenths of a percent. It is in the green for the week. Microsoft shares leading the Dow higher this afternoon. They're up 3.5%. Sherwin-Williams' share is up 2.5%. Boeing up almost 2%. The S &P 500 index is up 33 points.

0:44The Nasdaq's up 126 points. That's almost a half a percent. Investors reacting to an offer to the U.S. from Iran to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks as well within seven days. If Washington accepts its conditions, here's CNBC's Pippa Stevens. Iran said it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with the U.S. within seven days if Washington accepts its conditions. Iran's foreign minister told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that the conditions the country has asked the U.S. to meet are nothing new and the same as what was in the prior MOU.

1:22That's according to state media. Now, oil is well off the lows of the day, suggesting some skepticism that this will hold. Consumer sentiment down again in September from August, but there was a slight uptick from the first read earlier in the month. The numbers are still very low with high inflation and high gas prices. Consumers expect inflation to hit 4.6 % in the next year. The Fed's target is still 2%. But Americans do continue to spend. The University of Michigan sediment number is 48.1, consensus 47.8. That's been super weak for a very long time, and it hasn't necessarily translated into how people are spending.

2:02We know that. That's CNBC's Mike Santoli. Tough weekend ahead for would-be homebuyers if they didn't lock in a mortgage rate. The average rate on a 30-year fixed home loan at a two-and-a-half-year high today. That slaps would-be home buyers in the face. The average rate on the 30-year fix just hit 7.45 percent. That according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the highest since April of 2024. Now, I know you may have seen headlines from Freddie Mac that rates had just crossed 7 percent, but that's an average backdated over a week. So rates really began shooting higher this week with the bond sell-off.

2:36Now, remember, we were at 6.75 percent just at the end of August. That's CNBC's Diana Olick. Experts warn increasing yields are also going to lead to higher car loan interest rates, higher payments for consumers who carry balances on their credit cards, too. New in theaters for the weekend, A24's Primetime, DreamWorks animated Forgotten Island, and Paramount's The Heart of the Beast. Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Introducing Fidelity Trader Plus. With customizable tools and charts you can access across all your devices. Try our most powerful trading platform yet at fidelity.com slash trader plus. Investing involves risk, including risk of loss.

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