Equities Wobble, Credit Stays Resilient
November 9, 2026
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Markets had their most volatile week in months. Investors weighed the potential for tighter regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers following the midterm elections. On Thursday, the S&P 500 Index fell 4.4% and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5.5%, their worst days since the April 2025 sell-off that followed the "Liberation Day" tariff announcement,1 while semiconductor stocks lost about 12%.2 For the week, the S&P 500 Index lost 2.7%, the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 3.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.9%.3 Investors moved into Treasuries, and the 10-year yield fell Thursday to its lowest level since early September.4 Friday's jobs report reversed part of that move. Payrolls rose 165,000, nearly triple the forecast, and unemployment edged down to 4.1%.5 The labor market is closing in on a record. According to Apollo's Chief Economist Torsten Slok, unemployment has stayed below 5% for 61 straight months through September, three months short of the 64-month record set from 1965 to 1970.6 The 10-year yield finished the week near 4.86%, and markets now see roughly a 77% chance the Federal Reserve (Fed) raises rates in December.7
Credit markets remained resilient amid the equity volatility. Corporate bond issuance last week was the fourth-largest of 2026 and the largest November week on record.8 Meta led the way with a $15 billion bond sale that drew strong investor demand.9,10 The new bonds priced at a meaningful concession to Meta's existing debt and have performed well since.11 More broadly, investment-grade spreads widened only modestly, to 91 basis points (bps).12 Lower-rated borrowers also held up: CCC spreads, which widened sharply in October, tightened slightly last week, as did the broader high-yield index.13 This marks a notable shift from earlier in the fall. Recently, the market has shown it can absorb an equity shock without stress spreading through credit.
This week brings Treasury's quarterly auctions of new 3-, 10- and 30-year debt: $58 billion of 3-year notes Monday, $42 billion of 10-year notes Tuesday and $25 billion of 30-year bonds Thursday.14 The bond market is closed Wednesday for Veterans Day.15 The October Consumer Price Index (CPI) is due Tuesday, followed by the Producer Price Index (PPI) on Friday.16 Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and other Fed officials are scheduled to speak ahead of the December meeting.17 On the earnings front, CoreWeave reports Tuesday, a test of the AI credit story, and Cisco and Applied Materials report Thursday.18
Sources:
¹AP – How major US stock indexes fared Thursday 11/5/2026; 11/5/26
²24/7 Wall St. – Chip Stocks Just Had Their Second-Worst Day on Record; 11/6/26
³Yahoo Finance (UPI) – Nasdaq tech stocks recover but Wall Street posts 4th weekly loss; 11/6/26
4,11-13Bloomberg
5CNBC – U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, way more than expected; unemployment rate slips to 4.1%; 11/6/26
6Apollo – The Low Unemployment Streak Nears a Record, Torsten Slok, The Daily Spark; 11/6/26
7CNBC – 10-year Treasury yield rises after much stronger-than-expected October jobs report; 11/6/26
8Goldman Sachs
9,1024/7 Wall St. – Meta Just Paid 7.5% to Borrow for 30 Years as Bond Sale Drew $58 Billion in Orders; 11/4/26
14U.S. Treasury – Quarterly Refunding Statement of Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets Hunter McMaster; 11/4/26
15,16MarketWatch – Economic Calendar; as of 11/9/26
17Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago – Office of the President: Speaking Engagements
18Kiplinger – Earnings Calendar and Analysis for This Week (November 9-13)
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