Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026
Pre-markets look to be harvesting a few near-term profits this morning, following a healthy past week or so of trading on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. The AI trade has picked up momentum again, along with a quiet period on the economic reports, earnings releases ands even developments in the Middle East. But early traders are pumping the brakes a bit.
Speaking of the Middle East, spot oil prices are both up a tad: $90 per barrel (/bbl) on the WTI and $100/bbl on Brent crude. Bond yields are inching back up to +5% on the 10-year — +4.99% — while keeping that 20 basis-point (bps) margin with the 2-year yield: +4.79%. The Dow is currently down -174 points, the Nasdaq -94, the S&P 500 -11 and the small-cap Russell 2000 -17 points presently.
Only a couple days after Zacks Strategist Dave Bartosiak named Cracker Barrel CBRL his Zacks Bull of the Day (read this article here), the restaurant and gift store chain posted a +395% positive earnings surprise in its fiscal Q4 report this morning. Shares are up +6.8% in early trading, adding to its impressive +79% gains year to date. For more on CBRL’s earnings, click here.
Elsewhere, breakfast retail staple General Mills GIS outperformed expectations on both top and bottom lines —earnings of $0.75 per share beat the Zacks consensus by 3 cents on revenues of $4.39 billion, +1.04% above estimates — but shares are only flat on the news. This stock has been struggling so far through 2026, -23.8% over that time. For more on GIS’ earnings, click here.
Yesterday afternoon, national home builder KB Home KBH surpassed forecasts, with earnings of $1.05 per share on $1.3 billion in revenues coming in ahead of expectations for $0.88 per share and $1.29 billion in sales, respectively. Yet shares are down -3% in early trading as the homebuilder warned of headwinds in the present quarter, including higher mortgage rates. For more on KBH’s earnings, click here.
Speaking of housing, Fed Governor Michael Barr takes the stage later this morning at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where he plans to speak on housing affordability. Chicago has led major cities in home price value for several months, which is helping keep potential new homeowners from entering the market.
We’ll also listen for any insights Barr might give regarding the Fed’s outlook on future interest rates. The 25 bps hike last week was the first raise of 2026, and without forward guidance from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, market activity experienced a pang of worry mid-week. Is the Fed thinking future hikes are in order for the final two FOMC meeting of the year? Inquiring minds want to know…
Also, flash S&P Manufacturing and Services PMI are due out after the open for the month of September. Both sides are expected to remain healthy, firmly above the 50 level which indicates growth. Manufacturing is anticipated to tick up slightly to 53.5, while Services look to reach 55.7, 90 bps lower than last month’s report.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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