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US EQUITY OPEN: Stocks open with slight downward bias but energy stocks soar on firmer crude prices

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Thermo Fisher (TMO) says orders are outpacing revenue, boding well for future growth

European Market Wrap - 15th September 2026

US EQUITY OPEN: Stocks open with slight downward bias but energy stocks soar on firmer crude prices

[WATCH LIVE] US Treasury Secretary Bessent to testify on the State of the International Financial System in front of the House Financial Services Committee

Ally Financial (ALLY) CFO says the company is on track to meet its NIM guidance

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US EQUITY OPEN: Stocks opened with marginal weakness on Tuesday, extending Monday's declines following the calls for a slowdown in AI development, although losses are considerably more contained, with the Nasdaq down just 0.1%. Sectors are predominantly lower, while the equal-weight S&P falls c. 0.4%. Real Estate, Consumer Staples and Health Care lag, while Energy and Technology are the only sectors in the green. Energy stocks are outperforming alongside firmer crude prices, with Brent above USD 107/bbl and WTI above USD 103/bbl.

Crude is supported by Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline remaining offline, while Iran continues to reiterate that the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control. Adding to the upside, Libya's NOC said production and operations have been suspended at three oil fields after a valve was closed on the Al Hamada-Zawiya pipeline, warning it may need to declare force majeure if the closure persists. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is reportedly informing some European refiners that September crude cargo loadings have been cancelled.

The US Treasury curve is steepening, partially reversing Monday's flattening, with long-end yields rising while the front end is little changed. Attention is firmly on Wednesday's FOMC rate decision, updated SEPs and Chair Warsh's press conference.

The Dollar continues to outperform ahead of Wednesday's FOMC, with firmer oil prices and weakness in equities also supporting the buck, while the Yen lags once again.

Looking ahead, highlights include commentary from US Treasury Secretary Bessent, shortly before this afternoon's 20-year bond auction.

STOCK SPECIFICS

  • China: Criticises US calls for a slowdown in AI development
  • Wells Fargo (WFC): Says Q3 NIM could be better than guidance and FY26 loan growth will likely be better than guided
  • Sysco (SYY): Launches USD 1bln stock offering
  • Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY): Surprise loss per share, revenue light and comparable sales fell; also flagged a pullback in spending and investment
  • Waystar Holding (WAY): Exploring strategic options, including a potential sale
Context

Sessions where the equity tape is soft but energy rallies on supply headlines follow a well-worn script: the index-level move stays contained because the crude bid is read as a supply shock rather than a demand signal, so the rotation favours producers at the expense of the broad tape and the equal-weight underperforms the cap-weighted index. The crude complex here is being driven by physical disruption and security-of-transit risk, pipeline outages, field suspensions with a force majeure warning, cancelled cargo loadings, and control rhetoric around a key chokepoint, which is the combination that tends to lift prompt spreads and freight and insurance costs before flat price fully adjusts. Episodes of this kind have historically faded quickly when flows resume and persisted only when disruptions prove structural, so the tell is whether official statements are followed by actual loading data and whether the force majeure threat is executed. The concurrent dollar bid and long-end-led curve steepening are the established pattern when oil strength collides with event risk at the central bank: front-end pricing is anchored ahead of the decision while term premium absorbs the inflation read-through from crude. On the corporate side, guidance upgrades from a large bank on margin and loan growth fit the pattern of lenders benefitting from a steeper curve, while a surprise stock offering and a discretionary-spend warning from a casual dining name are the kind of idiosyncratic prints that matter for sector peers more than for the index. The calendar follow-ons are the rate decision, projections and press conference, plus the long-dated auction, which will test demand for duration just as oil complicates the inflation picture.

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