U.S. Equities, Gold, and Silver Deliver Best Monthly Performance in Years

Market Overview

Monday marked the final trading day of September, with U.S. equities managing to withstand the looming risk of a government shutdown and closing slightly higher across major benchmarks. Looking back at the month and the third quarter, performance was exceptionally strong: the Dow Jones closed at a record high, while both the Dow and S&P 500 extended their winning streak to five consecutive months. The Nasdaq posted its sixth straight monthly gain, with both the S&P and Nasdaq registering their strongest September rally in 15 years.

On the corporate front, Tesla surged 33% in September, while Alphabet jumped 38% in Q3—its biggest quarterly gain since 2005.

U.S. Treasury yields fell to session lows after the release of the JOLTS job openings report, while the U.S. Dollar Index declined for a third straight day. In crypto markets, Bitcoin briefly retreated after approaching $115,000, while Ethereum ended September down more than 6%.

In commodities, gold notched its second consecutive record high, reversing intraday losses following the economic data release and securing its largest monthly gain in 14 years. Silver also pulled back on the day but still climbed more than 10% in September, matching golds momentum. Oil markets saw volatility on rumors of an OPEC+ output hike but pared more than half of intraday losses after the group officially denied the reports.

Hot Topics Ahead

● U.S. August JOLTS Job Openings Edge Higher

Job openings in August came in at 7.227 million, slightly above expectations of 7.20 million, with the prior figure revised upward to 7.21 million. Hiring activity slowed, with the hiring rate falling to 3.2%, its lowest since June 2024, while layoffs remained steady at historically low levels. Voluntary quits dropped to their lowest level of the year, suggesting workers are less confident about switching jobs.

● CoreWeave Shares Jump Over 9% Pre-Market

AI infrastructure provider CoreWeave announced a $14.2 billion compute supply deal with Meta Platforms, delivering NVIDIAs latest GB300 systems. The deal underscores the immense costs of developing cutting-edge AI models and allows CoreWeave to diversify its client base, reducing reliance on Microsoft.

Key Events to Watch (GMT+8)

20:15 – U.S. September ADP Employment Change (thousands)

21:45 – U.S. September S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Final

22:00 – U.S. September ISM Manufacturing PMI, August Construction Spending MoM

22:30 – U.S. EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories (through Sept 26, in thousands of barrels)

Overnight:

00:15 – Richmond Fed President & 2027 FOMC Voter Thomas Barkin speaks on the economic outlook