The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended October 2nd, 2026, stocks were lower everywhere. Bonds were lower for the week as the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) fell 0.91% with yields rising; the 10-year US treasury yield increased to 5.28%, according to Yahoo Finance. Asset price drivers of the week:

• Stocks started the week on a sour note after Trump's weekend rejection of Iran's peace offer, which sent oil and interest rates higher.
• The sell-off continued but moderated on Tuesday as oil took a pause, consumer confidence came in below expectations, and US job openings were lower than forecasted.
• Wednesday brought some confusion when stocks originally rose on lower-than-expected inflation (the PCE price index), but eventually dropped when higher private payrolls increased odds of another Federal Reserve rate hike.
• There was some reprieve on Thursday, at least in the US, as stocks rose on the back of easing interest rates and a softer-than-expected manufacturing report.
• Friday brought some gains to end the week again after a report showed the US added far less jobs than expected in September, unemployment ticked up, and average hourly earnings missed the mark. This eased concerns about a rate hike, but treasury yields rose anyway.
• Next week will give us more data on services and manufacturing, Federal Reserve meeting minutes, and consumer expectations and sentiment.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, the US was the winner again this week followed by Emerging Markets as Non-US Developed lagged. Within the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq again outperformed and actually delivered a positive return. From a factor perspective, all factors in the US beat the broader S&P 500.

In The News

Yet another reason not to let politics influence your investments.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-mixing-politics-with-your-stock-portfolio-might-be-costing-you-money-5b4aabfb?mod=home_lead

How quickly things can change - bets on a Fed rate hike are off.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/02/fed-rate-hike-odds-decline-after-september-jobs-report.html

Where can switching jobs get you the best pay bump?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-best-industry-to-change-jobs-to-get-paid-more-money-and-the-worst-ae33a3a7?mod=home_lead

Disclosures

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy will be profitable or equal the corresponding indicated performance level(s). Moreover, you should not assume that any of the above content serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Metric Financial.

All data and performance information sourced from Morningstar and MarketWatch, unless otherwise indicated.

USA is the MSCI USA index, Non-US Developed is the MSCI EAFE index, Emerging Markets is the MSCI Emerging Markets index, and All Country World is the MSCI ACWI index. One cannot invest in an index. Because the factor indexes have varying inception dates, some of the returns provided are back-tested and do not represent actual performance. Inception dates are as follows:

Momentum = MSCI ACWI Momentum NR USD Index (Inception: 11/30/95)

Value = MSCI ACWI Enhanced Value NR USD Index (Inception: 5/29/15)

Quality = MSCI ACWI Quality NR USD Index (Inception: 5/29/92)

Low Volatility = MSCI ACWI Minimum Volatility (USD) NR USD Index (Inception: 5/28/93)

Size = MSCI ACWI Risk Weighted NR USD Index (Inception: 4/6/11)

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All written content is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Metric, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.