The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended September 25th, 2026, stocks were higher everywhere. Bonds were lower for the week as the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) fell 0.88% with yields rising; the 10-year US treasury yield increased to 5.18%, according to Yahoo Finance. Asset price drivers of the week:

• Indices rallied on Monday after the US said over the weekend that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz hit a 6-month high, driving the price of oil lower.
• Stocks meandered and ended mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited the meeting between Trump and Xi. Oil fell on a supposed cooling of tensions between the US and Iran.
• Wednesday brought some surprisingly strong data on the manufacturing and service fronts which sent bets on Fed rate hikes higher and stocks lower.
• Stocks fell on Thursday but recovered some of their losses late in the day on hopes for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and progress in the Trump-Xi talks.
• Friday brought some gains to end the week as investors ignored rising treasury yields and oil prices. Durable goods orders were below forecasts and consumer sentiment was higher than expected.
• Next week will bring a slew of data as we will get consumer confidence, US job openings, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation (the PCE price index), Chicago manufacturing, and the all-important September jobs report on Friday.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, the US was the winner again this week followed by Non-US Developed as Emerging Markets lagged. Within the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq again outperformed while the more traditional stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged far behind. From a factor perspective, Momentum and Quality in the US beat the broader S&P 500.

In The News

How has inflation really affected Americans?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/from-6-eggs-to-50-000-cars-these-charts-show-how-inflation-has-defined-the-past-5-years-3c7b9ab9?mod=home_lead

Where are we with the Strait of Hormuz?

https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/iran-awaits-us-response-to-hormuz-peace-plan-as-trump-reportedly-rejects-deal-4918476

Semiconductor bellwether Micron could give the market some jitters when they report next week.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/micron-investors-should-get-ready-for-a-seesaw-ride-analyst-says-1c0cc651?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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