News desk · Evening edition · Friday, September 18, 2026

Equities have stayed near record territory, keeping the broader bull regime intact, even as risk appetite gyrates day to day. The VIX extended its slide to 14.81, down 4.08% on the day, even as the Fear & Greed Index slipped further to 29 from 33 a week ago. Communication Services led sector losses on a Netflix downgrade while Technology kept climbing, and Shanghai and Tokyo both cooled from yesterday's gains.

auto-generated · written Sep 18, 2026, 4:35 PM EDT

Prices in this edition were taken live, not from stored closes. They were read at the Evening edition slot on Friday, September 18, 2026. Anything named as a cause may come from a headline the desk was given.

Equities

Wells Fargo cut Netflix's rating, citing over-reliance on podcasts for growth
Wendy's largest franchisee, Meritage Hospitality, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Dimon, Fraser, Altman and Huang reportedly set to attend a Trump-Xi state dinner

Sector and commodities

GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind settled an offshore wind dispute for over $300 million
Russia placed Nestlé's local business assets under external administration

Crypto

extended its rebound to roughly $81,009, up 6.84% since first flagged this week
The Clarity Act crypto market-structure bill failed to advance in Congress

Fixed income

A Fed report found staff missed warning signs before SVB's 2023 collapse
A new forecast projects U.S. mortgage rates trending out through 2031

Russell 2000 (RUT)-0.5%

The Russell 2000 has slid over 5% this month, underperforming large caps as small-cap risk appetite fades.

Shanghai Composite (000001.SS)-0.4%

Shanghai's 1D slipped to -0.41% today, cooling after a mid-week bounce, well off its late-August high near 3987.

Nasdaq Composite (IXIC)+0.4%

The Nasdaq closed at 26,522, its best level of the past month, as chip stocks extend Nvidia's sales-forecast rally.