WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

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Get the latest insights on global financial markets with our Weekly Market Review. In it we discuss the key financial headlines from the U.S, Europe, UK, Ireland, and Asia-Pacific, along with in-depth analysis of major asset classes, including:

Equities – U.S, Europe, and UK market trends
Bonds – Interest rate movements and fixed-income insights
Commodities – Oil, gold, and other key market drivers

Stay ahead of market trends with our expert insights. Read the latest update now!

Weekly Market Review: 14th September 2026

The Week in Numbers

Equity Markets

Equity Indices	Value	Weekly Change	YTD Change
S&P 500	7,656.98	-1.02%	+11.85%
NASDAQ	26,333.04	-0.86%	+13.30%
EuroStoxx50	6,325.13	-1.09%	+9.22%
EuroStoxx600	639.10	-1.55%	+7.92%
FTSE 100	10,650.44	-1.46%	+7.24%
ISEQ	14,457.31	-0.37%	+10.37%

Central Bank Interest Rates

Interest Rate	Current Rate	Direction	Rate Change
FED	3.75%	—	0
ECB	2.65%	↑	+0.25
BOE	3.75%	—	0

Government Bonds

Fixed Income	Yield	Weekly Change	YTD Change
US 10YR	4.96	+3.69%	+18.45%
US 2YR	4.63	+5.83%	+33.24%
German 10YR	3.51	+3.91%	+20.98%
UK 10YR	5.34	+3.27%	+17.76%
Irish 10YR	3.62	+3.21%	+18.08%

Foreign Exchange Currency Movements

FX	Value	Weekly Change	YTD Change
EUR/USD	1.159	-0.11%	-1.25%
EUR/GBP	0.857	-0.13%	-1.58%
GBP/USD	1.351	+0.10%	+0.34%

Key Events

16/09/2026 – Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision and Economic Projections
17/09/2026 – Bank of England Interest Rate Decision

When US States Rival Nations: Understanding America’s Economic Scale

In our most recent Seaspray Private financial data insight we examine the remarkable scale of the US economy by comparing individual US states with some of the world’s largest national economies. We explore how industries such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor, manufacturing and data centres are contributing to growth across individual states.

Stay Informed with Our Seaspray Private Weekly Financial Market Review

Equities – U.S, Europe, and UK market trends
Bonds – Interest rate movements and fixed-income insights
Commodities – Oil, gold, and other key market drivers

Stay ahead of market trends with our expert insights. Read the latest update now!

FINANCIAL HEADLINES

United States

In a landmark moment, new Apple CEO John Ternus unveiled the first foldable iPhone, marking one of the company’s most significant product launches since the iPhone first debuted nearly 20 years ago. The iPhone Duo will feature a foldable screen that expands to roughly the size of an iPad Mini. However, it will also be the most expensive iPhone since the product’s launch, with US prices reaching as high as $3,199 for the top-spec model. Competitors such as Samsung and Huawei have already launched foldable smartphones, although their complexity and premium pricing have largely confined their popularity to high-end buyers and brand-loyal customers. The Duo is expected to sell around 10mn units in its first year, reflecting its premium price point. For comparison, around 250mn iPhones are sold annually.

Europe & UK

In Europe, interest rates were raised once again across the bloc at the latest meeting of the European Central Bank. The ECB increased rates by 25 basis points, in a move widely expected by markets. The rate hike came in response to elevated inflation, which remains stubbornly high amid the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran. With oil prices passing $100 a barrel once again last week, European swap markets are now pricing in additional rate hikes, with two further increases expected by April 2027. However, ECB President Christine Lagarde stressed that the Bank did not pre-commit to any future moves, stating: “Markets do what they have to do, and we do what we have to do, which is to provide price stability.”

In the UK, in a positive development for the manufacturing sector, McLaren, the carmaker and Formula One team, announced that it would create 1,000 jobs in the UK as part of a £450mn investment in its main facility in Woking. The company already employs around 2,500 people, with the new roles expected to be concentrated in manufacturing and research and development. McLaren produces all of its cars in the UK, and the announcement represents a welcome bright spot for the British automotive industry, which has faced significant challenges in recent years from US tariffs and growing Chinese competition.

Ireland

August 2026 saw another record for solar energy generation, according to EirGrid, the national operator of Ireland’s electricity grid. Solar power contributed 7.7% of the country’s total electricity generation in August, up from 5% in August 2025. The month also saw two new peaks for electricity generated by grid-scale solar, with output reaching 1.25 gigawatts (GW) on 11 August and a new high of 1.3GW on 24 August. While solar generation is expected to decline as the winter months approach, EirGrid expects solar power to continue supporting the wider electricity grid during daylight hours, even in the depths of winter.

Asia-Pacific

Important economic data was released last week in China, with the country’s trade surplus rising to $119.09bn, up from $101.09bn in August 2025 and broadly in line with forecasts. Exports rose by 25% compared with a year earlier, supported by technology shipments linked to the global AI build-out. Chip exports accounted for more than $40bn of total exports in August, a record figure and a significant increase from the $17.7bn recorded in August 2025. Interestingly, Chinese exports to the US surged by 34.4% to $42.5bn, indicating the continued reliance of US companies on Chinese goods and supply chains. The data also comes ahead of a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump later this month.

ASSET CLASS REVIEW

Equities

In the United States, an oil shock turned into an inflation shock, with shares giving ground across the week’s three trading sessions following Monday’s Labour Day public holiday. Crude oil climbing above $100 a barrel raised the prospect that the Federal Reserve could tighten policy further rather than ease it, and by Thursday traders were pricing in a near 70% probability of a September rate hike. Energy shares were the only consistent winners, gaining around 1% on both Tuesday and Wednesday, while every other major sector declined on Wednesday. A separate concern resurfaced on Tuesday over whether artificial intelligence could erode the competitive position of established software businesses. Salesforce and Intuit each fell around 4%, while ServiceNow declined 5%. Chipmakers fared better, helped by an Amazon custom AI-chip agreement that lifted Intel 9% and Qualcomm 3%. The two large technology reports came after Thursday’s close. Oracle drew the better reception: revenue rose about 30% to $19.35bn, cloud revenue grew 62%, and its contracted order book reached $664bn, lifting the shares around 4% in after-hours trading. Adobe beat expectations for the quarter but guided the current one slightly below forecasts and slipped about 2%. For the week, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed 1.02% and 0.86% lower, respectively.

In Europe, markets traded lower amid three critical macroeconomic pressures: higher oil prices, rising government borrowing costs and an increasingly restrictive central bank. Energy was the standout sector throughout the week, but its gains were insufficient to offset weakness across the wider market. Wednesday’s decline took the region to its lowest level since late July as Brent crude crossed $100 a barrel. The European Central Bank’s quarter-point rate increase on Thursday was widely expected, yet the prospect of further tightening turned an early market gain into a decline. At the company level, Fortum, the Finnish state-owned energy company, jumped nearly 16% after agreeing a long-term power supply deal with Google worth €13bn. For the week, the Euro Stoxx 50 and STOXX Europe 600 closed 1.09% and 1.55% lower, respectively.

In the United Kingdom, the market was caught between strong performances from its energy giants and weakness across much of the wider market. BP and Shell rose across all four trading sessions, but banks were a significant drag on Wednesday, with Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC each losing around 2%. Corporate earnings also weighed on sentiment, with Associated British Foods falling almost 12% after Primark forecast weaker sales. For the week, the FTSE 100 closed 1.46% lower.

Bonds

Government borrowing costs rose sharply on both sides of the Atlantic as higher energy prices revived the case for tighter policy. The yield on ten-year United States government debt climbed from about 4.76% to 4.92%, its highest since 2023, with the largest move coming after Thursday’s producer-price figures. Weekly jobless claims of 206,000 pointed to a labour market firm enough for the Federal Reserve to concentrate on inflation. The US Treasury Department’s first expanded buyback operation also yielded weaker than expected results. British government bonds fared worse still: the ten-year yield touched 5.30%.

Commodities

Oil dominated the week. Brent rose almost 9% to close above $104 a barrel and WTI gained a similar amount to just over $100, having spent Wednesday and Thursday above $100 for the first time since May. The cause was supply rather than demand: attacks on tankers and on Saudi facilities, fighting in the Persian Gulf, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz running far below normal. OPEC+ had left its October production plans unchanged at its meeting on 6 September, so no additional supply was on the way to offset the disruption. Gold declined, easing about 3.2% to around $4,350 an ounce. A softer dollar and unease about government debt supported it, but rising bond yields and the growing likelihood of higher interest rates worked against a metal that pays no income.

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