S&P 500 Holds Near Highs as Metals Pull Back Ahead of the Bell

Heading into Friday, September 25, the S&P 500 sits -1.4% from its all-time high after closing -0.1% on Thursday, September 24, with the SPY exchange-traded fund finishing at $767.18. Market breadth during the session was subdued, as 38.1% of the largest U.S. equities managed to close higher. Across other primary benchmarks, the Dow finished -0.3%, the Nasdaq 100 closed 0.0%, and the Russell 2000 small-cap index closed -0.1%.

While New York was shut, EasyAlpha re-graded companies across the S&P 500 based on its latest overnight scoring run. Our own assessment moved lower on three index members: Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM) C to E on its price behaviour, HP Inc (HPQ) D to E on its price behaviour, and Xylem Inc (XYL) C to E on the sentiment around it.

Across the same scoring run, our view improved on three other S&P 500 companies: Generac Holdings Inc (GNRC) D to B on the sentiment around it, Quanta Services Inc (PWR) D to B on the sentiment around it, and Trane Technologies plc (TT) C to B on the sentiment around it.

In round-the-clock benchmark trading as of 10:25 am New York, commodity and currency markets established early directions. Precious metals pulled back, with silver -3.7% and gold -1.3%. In currency markets, foreign currencies gained modest ground against the dollar, with the yen against the dollar +0.2% and the euro against the dollar +0.2% over the same overnight window.

On the corporate earnings calendar for Friday, September 25, 1 covered company is scheduled to release financial results. Scheduled to report before the opening bell is Tamboran Resources Corporation (TBN, graded B). Looking at the wider corporate schedule, 22 covered companies are scheduled to report their quarterly results over the coming week.

Several individual stocks warrant attention heading into the open. Shares of Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM) are in focus after announcing an $11.6 billion computing infrastructure agreement with Anthropic, a seven-year deal to provide computing capacity that may expand up to $20 billion and prompted Akamai to raise its 2026 capital expenditures by about $1.7 billion. Meanwhile, Xylem Inc (XYL) enters the session under pressure after sliding 3.21 percent to touch a 52-week low while trading below its short, medium, and long-term moving averages. In addition, TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (TKO) closed down 2.13 percent during the prior session with no company-specific announcements on its investor relations wire, with the movement tracking wider market tape rather than company news.

Among the most notable single-stock moves from Thursday, September 24, Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) -12.0% after reports surfaced that it made an unsolicited approach to acquire GoDaddy for roughly $12 billion, triggering investor concern regarding acquisition debt, valuation, and transaction execution risks. Over the same session, MGM Resorts International (MGM) -11.0% after People Incorporated withdrew its proposal to purchase the remaining shares of the company, eliminating a buyout premium that had previously supported the stock price. On the advancing side, Moderna Inc (MRNA) +7.0% following confirmation that three oncology abstracts were accepted for presentation at the ESMO Congress in October. Shares of Charles River Laboratories (CRL) +6.2% after the company used its Investor Day presentation to reaffirm full-year financial guidance and establish operating targets through 2030, including cumulative efficiency initiatives.

Understanding the overnight pullback in metals requires recognizing what an investor owns when buying physical gold or silver compared to a basket of corporate equities. When an investor buys a share of stock, they acquire a fractional ownership stake in the future cash flows of an operating business. If that business increases revenue, defends profit margins, or pays dividends, the fundamental value of that corporate claim grows over time. Physical gold and silver, by contrast, produce no operational cash flow, yield no recurring income, and do not publish quarterly earnings reports. An investor buying precious metals is purchasing physical commodities characterized by finite global supply and established historical liquidity. Because physical metals carry no corporate debt obligations and cannot declare bankruptcy, market participants frequently turn to them during periods of currency depreciation or macroeconomic stress. When broader market conditions remain calm and fixed-income yields offer positive real returns, the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding commodities increases. That fundamental difference explains why gold and silver can decline sharply on sessions when equity benchmarks hold firm, as commodity prices respond to shifts in real yields and global monetary liquidity rather than corporate balance sheets.