Update: US Equity Indexes Rise After August Inflation Print Triggers Rally in Shorter-Maturity Treasury Yields, Crude Oil Slumps

04:41 PM EDT, 09/11/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves, comments and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes rose amid a broad-based rally after August's inflation print sparked a surge in short-term government bond yields while crude oil slid ahead of a potential meeting between the Gulf states and Iran to stem their spiralling war. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1% to 26,333.04, the S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 7,656.98, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1% to 52,573.29 on Friday. All but two sectors, health care and utilities, rose. Communication services, consumer discretionary and technology led the gainers. The consumer price index rose 0.4%, the fastest pace since May and above July's 0.1% increase, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Friday. The move matched the Bloomberg-polled consensus. Core inflation jumped to a four-month high of 0.3%, exceeding projections for an unchanged 0.2% gain. On an annual basis, headline inflation held steady at 3.4%, as expected. The annual core measure eased to 2.4% from 2.5%, also in line with projections. Today's "ambiguous CPI data doesn't conclusively show evidence of continued disinflation or a continued trend of above-target inflation going forward," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a note. "The rate decision at this meeting is a very close call, and it seems that no matter what the FOMC does, there will be criticism that they are making a mistake," Simons said. "If they hike, they will have to deal with setting expectations for further rate hikes, knowing that oil prices could crash at any time if there is a resolution to the situation in Iran. If they hold, they risk losing their inflation-fighting credibility, and they will be defying a market that is pricing in odds of nearly 90% for a hike." Supercore inflation - core services excluding housing - jumped 0.5% in August, marking the largest monthly gain in four months, according to a Stifel note. Over the past 12 months, the supercore grew 3.0%, accelerating from the 2.8% gain in July and marking the fastest pace since June. Last month, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh reiterated the Fed's commitment to eventually reinstating price stability, but market participants remained skeptical of any policy tightening, the Stifel note said. "There is no doubt the Fed should raise rates, but the question remains: Will they?" Most US Treasury yields rose. The two-year shot up 7.8 basis points to 4.63%, the highest since mid-2024. The 10-year yield climbed 2.7 basis points to 4.97%, the strongest level since October 2023. A six-member bloc of Gulf states is weighing a meeting with Iran next week to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Oman is aiming to assemble foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran on Monday in Salalah, a southern Omani city, sources told the news agency. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract slumped 2% to $100.44 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent dropped 2.6% to $104.80 per barrel. Both crude types were off their respective session lows after Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said Friday that a key crude oil pipeline had been attacked and "was shut down as a precautionary measure," according to CNN.