This Weekly Financial Markets Update reviews the top market headlines: Inflation Pressures Reaccelerate in September, Major Banks Kick Off Q3 Earnings Season and AI Trade Faces Growing Credit Concerns
  • PPI rose 1.3% in September, the most since March 2022
  • 3 of 4 major banks topped expectations to start the Q3 earnings season
  • U.S. chipmakers shed nearly $2 trillion in market value since last week

Top Three Market Headlines

Inflation Pressures Reaccelerate in September: U.S. inflation picked up in September, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising 0.6% for the month and 3.7% from a year earlier, up from 3.4% in August. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.3% for the month and 2.6% over the past year, suggesting inflation pressures are extending beyond the recent rise in energy prices. Producer prices showed even greater pressure, with the Producer Price Index (PPI) jumping 1.3% in September, its largest monthly increase since March 2022. Prices excluding food and energy rose 0.7%, reinforcing signs that inflationary pressures are becoming more widespread across the economy.

Major Banks Kick Off Q3 Earnings Season: Third quarter earnings season kicked off this week as several of the largest U.S. banks reported results. Three of the first four major banks to report beat Wall Street earnings expectations, led by strong results from Goldman Sachs, while JPMorgan posted a rare earnings miss. Investment banking activity also remained strong, with revenues rising 14% from a year ago at JPMorgan and 21% at Goldman Sachs. Despite some mixed results, bank executives generally pointed to resilient consumers, healthy client activity, and continued momentum across key areas of their businesses as the third quarter earnings season gets underway.

AI Trade Faces Growing Credit Concerns: AI-related stocks came under pressure this week as investors raised questions about the debt financing behind the massive buildout of AI infrastructure. U.S. chipmakers shed nearly $2 trillion in market value since last week and concerns have spread into credit markets, particularly among heavily leveraged AI companies. Investors increasingly weighed the significant borrowing and capital spending required to build AI infrastructure against the timing and size of future returns.

As of October 16, 2026 Week Quarter-To-Date Year-To-Date One-Year
MSCI All Country World -1.57% -0.46% 12.51% 16.22%
S&P 500 -1.94% 0.15% 12.91% 16.89%
Russell 2000 -3.04% -2.67% 10.67% 11.66%
MSCI EAFE 1.43% -0.08% 10.25% 14.06%
MSCI Emerging Markets -5.15% -4.89% 17.35% 19.93%
FTSE NAREIT Equity 1.04% 0.93% 11.64% 10.62%
Bloomberg Commodity 0.42% 2.04% 35.57% 41.03%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate 0.88% 1.32% -1.63% -1.67%

Bloomberg 10/16/2026, CNBC 10/15/2026, Yahoo Finance 10/15/2026. Index returns from Morningstar Direct. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Investment advisory services are offered by Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC ("GFA"), an SEC registered investment advisor that provides retirement, investment advisory, discretionary and independent fiduciary services. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC. GFA is a limited liability company with Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. as its single member. GFA may pay referral fees or other remuneration to employees of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. or its affiliates or to independent contractors; such payments do not change our fee. Neither Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., GFA, their affiliates nor representatives provide accounting, legal or tax advice. GFA does not express an investment opinion regarding any specific commodity, sector or individual security. Unless otherwise expressly noted, the contents of this communication do not constitute securities or investment advice, nor should this communication be construed as an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment. The information provided cannot take into account all the various factors that may affect your particular situation, therefore you should consult your GFA consultant before acting upon any information or recommendation contained herein to discuss the ability of the information/recommendation for your specific situation.