Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Higher Personal Spending Growth Accompanies Soft Inflation Print

03:49 PM EDT, 09/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed ahead of Wednesday's close as personal consumption spending grew alongside a soft inflation print and the likelihood of back-to-back monetary policy tightening in October declined. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8% to 27,023.5, the S&P 500 advanced 0.3% to 7,692.4, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 51,114.7. The personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index grew 0.3% in August, as expected, keeping the year-over-year rate at 3.4%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Wednesday. The index edged up 0.1% month-over-month in July. Core PCE climbed 0.2%, below the 0.3% expected and a 0.1% gain in July. The year-over-year rate remained at 3.0%. However, personal consumption expenditures jumped 0.9%, as expected, after a 0.1% move in July. Real PCE, which excludes inflation, advanced 0.6%, following a 0.1% gain in July and compared with expectations for a 0.5% increase. US Treasury yields traded mixed, with maturities below three years declining. The two-year yield leaned slightly lower to 4.89% after hitting a 52-week high on Tuesday. The 10-year yield jumped three basis points to 5.29%, its strongest level since 2007. The 30-year rate climbed 3.9 basis points to 5.63%, the loftiest since 2002. Traders priced in a 35% probability that the Federal Reserve will raise its target rate by 25 basis points in October, down from 51% a day ago and 71% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The remaining 65% likelihood is that the Fed will hold policy in the 3.75% to 4% range after lifting rates by a quarter of a percentage point in September. Technology and communication services sectors topped the gainers in the final leg of trading. All but four peer groups declined. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract advanced 1.4% to $90.63 per barrel, and the global benchmark North Sea Brent rose 0.9% to $103.53 per barrel.