Bitget UEX Daily Report | Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 25 basis points; U.S. stocks decline for three consecutive days; Generac receives order from Amazon, rises 33.05% after hours (September 17, 2026)

# 1. Hot News

Federal Reserve Dynamics

Unanimous rate hike of 25 basis points, further tightening expected within the year

• The Federal Reserve raised the target range for the federal funds rate to 3.75% - 4.00% with 12 votes in favor and zero against, marking the first rate hike since July 2023.
• In the latest economic forecast, the median policy rate at the end of 2026 and 2027 is projected to be 4.1%. Compared to the midpoint of the range after this rate hike, the year-end forecast suggests there may still be one more rate hike within the year, but it is not a policy commitment.
• The Federal Reserve raised the median PCE inflation forecast for 2026 to 3.7% and core PCE to 3.4%, both on a year-on-year basis for the fourth quarter; the statement emphasized that inflation remains elevated.

Market Impact: Market focus has shifted from "whether to raise rates" to "how long will tightening last." For tech stocks and crypto assets, financing costs and valuation discount rates remain constraints; a single rate hike does not equate to a restoration of risk appetite.

International Commodities

Saudi alternative export arrangements alleviate supply concerns, oil prices retreat but risks remain

• According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia is providing more crude oil loading arrangements to Asian refineries through ship-to-ship transfers near the Port of Sohar in Oman, partially alleviating supply pressure after attacks on east-west pipelines.
• EIA data shows that for the week ending September 11, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding strategic reserves) decreased by about 640,000 barrels, a decline smaller than the 1.62 million barrels expected in a Reuters survey; gasoline and distillate inventories increased.
• Alternative transportation arrangements do not mean that damaged pipelines and Red Sea exports have fully recovered; the situation in the Middle East remains an important variable for oil prices.

Market Impact: The temporary easing of supply concerns has pressured energy stocks, but oil prices remain high. Cost improvements in transportation and manufacturing require sustained supply recovery, not just a one-day price drop.

Macroeconomics

U.S. retail sales in August increased by 1.2% month-on-month, demand resilience increases inflation resistance difficulty

• The U.S. Census Bureau reported that retail and food service sales in August were $773.9 billion, up 1.2% month-on-month and up 6.0% year-on-year.
• The month-on-month change for July was revised from a decline of 0.6% to a decline of 0.5%.
• This data is seasonally adjusted but does not exclude price changes, so nominal sales growth cannot be entirely interpreted as an expansion of actual consumption.

Market Impact: Consumer resilience supports corporate revenues, also weakening the rationale for a rapid shift to easing. Future observations need to focus on whether sales growth can translate into profits, rather than being offset by wages, energy, and financing costs.

# 2. Market Review

Commodities and Forex

• Spot Gold: Approximately $4,284.79 per ounce.
• Spot Silver: Approximately $63.39 per ounce.
• WTI Crude Oil Futures: Approximately $101.35 per barrel, reference price for the October 2026 contract.
• Brent Crude Oil Futures: Approximately $104.85 per barrel, reference price for the November 2026 contract.
• Dollar Index DXY: Approximately 100.35.

Driving Analysis: The Federal Reserve's rate hike strengthens rate constraints, keeping the dollar above 100; gold faces pressure from interest rates and safe-haven demand. The next direction for crude oil still depends on transportation recovery and geopolitical risks, and a price drop cannot be directly equated to the alleviation of energy inflation pressure.

Cryptocurrency

• BTC: Approximately 76,230.00 USDT, up 0.67% in 24 hours; Bitget spot BTC/USDT trading volume approximately 270.44 million USDT.
• ETH: Approximately 2,415.40 USDT, up 0.77% in 24 hours; Bitget spot ETH/USDT trading volume approximately 265.67 million USDT.

Large Holder Buying and Volume-Price Observation: Among the corporate purchases disclosed on September 14, Strive bought 469 BTC from September 8 to 11, with an average price including fees of approximately $77,954; Bitmine disclosed a purchase of 27,180 ETH the previous week. The above purchases were made earlier and do not represent new buying this morning. Current coin prices have slightly rebounded, but the trading volume on a single platform does not equate to net capital inflow, which is still insufficient to determine that large holders are continuously accumulating.

Driving Analysis: As of the above quotation time, BTC and ETH have slightly increased within a rolling 24-hour period. This statistical window covers the period before and after the Federal Reserve's decision and does not represent an independent increase after the rate hike, nor can it be concluded that the rate hike drove the rebound. Continued increases still require coordination between spot demand and subsequent capital flows.

U.S. Stock Market Indices

• Dow Jones Index: 51,461.90 points, down 1.21%.
• S&P 500 Index: 7,552.25 points, down 0.44%.
• NASDAQ Composite Index: 25,978.43 points, down 0.01%.

The three major indices have fallen for the third consecutive trading day, with the NASDAQ index closing near flat and the Dow under significant pressure, reflecting that the relative resilience of some tech stocks has not yet spread to the overall market.

Seven Tech Giants

• NVIDIA NVDA: $213.90, up 0.82%.
• Apple AAPL: $332.41, up 0.32%.
• Microsoft MSFT: $490.30, down 1.37%.
• Google GOOGL: $342.87, down 0.61%.
• Amazon AMZN: $245.96, down 0.99%.
• Meta: $673.31, up 0.46%.
• Tesla TSLA: $358.08, up 0.42%.

Performance Summary and Driving Analysis: Four of the seven giants rose while three fell, with NVIDIA leading the gains and Microsoft experiencing the largest decline. The next generation of inference performance and data center investments continue to provide company-level catalysts, but the declines in Amazon and Microsoft indicate that AI-related businesses do not automatically offset macro pressures.

Observations of Anomalous Sectors

Optical Communication: Some AI infrastructure stocks perform strongly against the trend

• Representative Stocks: Lumentum (LITE) up 9.59%, Coherent (COHR) up 6.92%.
• Driving Observation: The expansion of AI computing power keeps optical interconnects and network bandwidth in focus. However, rising stock prices do not equate to orders or profits being realized simultaneously; future observations should focus on shipments, customer capital expenditures, and profit guidance.

Energy: Oil price retreat drags down upstream stocks

• Representative Stocks: ExxonMobil (XOM) down 3.54%, Chevron (CVX) down 2.86%.
• Driving Observation: Alternative crude oil export arrangements and inventory data alleviate some supply concerns, putting pressure on the energy sector; sustainability still depends on actual supply recovery, not just single news items.

# 3. In-Depth Analysis of U.S. Stocks

1. NVIDIA (NVDA) ------ Inference performance upgrade, commercial realization is the next hurdle

Event Overview: NVIDIA closed up 0.82% at $213.90. The company announced the results of MLPerf Inference v6.1: the Vera Rubin NVL72 preview system achieved a throughput of 3.7 times that of GB300 NVL72 in the Qwen3-VL test, and 2.5 times in the DeepSeek-R1 test.

Market Interpretation: The results support the direction of new platforms improving inference efficiency, but they are preview results under specific models and test configurations and cannot directly extrapolate cost reductions or revenue increases for all customers.

Investment Insight: Focus on mass production delivery, actual customer deployment, and unit inference costs. Technical advantages must translate into orders, utilization, and cash flow to sustainably support profit expectations.

2. Generac (GNRC) ------ Amazon orders drive after-hours reassessment

Event Overview: Generac closed at $175.11, up 0.05%; as of 7:59 PM Eastern Time on September 16, it was reported at $232.98 in after-hours trading, up 33.05% from the regular close. The company disclosed supplying backup generators to Amazon's data centers, with expected first deliveries totaling $2.4 billion in 2027-2028.

Market Interpretation: Long-term supply enhances revenue visibility for the data center business, but the delivery amount does not equate to current recognized revenue. Amazon also received approximately 1.69 million stock warrants, with an exercise price of approximately $200.93; part of the vesting is linked to subsequent purchase payments.

Investment Insight: Focus on expansion investments, delivery progress, gross margins, and potential equity dilution. Low liquidity in after-hours trading means this increase does not represent the opening or closing performance of the next trading day.

3. Intel (INTC) ------ Storage cooperation expectations heat up, no final agreement yet

Event Overview: Intel rose 4.03% to close at $101.05. Reuters reported that SK Hynix is discussing the possibility of manufacturing memory chips in the U.S. with Intel, involving leasing space in an Ohio factory or forming a joint venture.

Market Interpretation: SK Hynix has made it clear that specific plans, cooperation arrangements, and related decisions have not yet been finalized. Potential cooperation could improve factory utilization and investment sharing, but cannot be counted as confirmed orders or future profits.

Investment Insight: Focus on formal agreements, funding divisions, regulatory approvals, and production timelines. What is currently being traded is the expectation of cooperation, not already realized production capacity.

# 4. Market and Project Dynamics

1. Progress on Digital Asset Tax Legislation: The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee submitted the revised "Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act" to the House for further review with a vote of 38 in favor and 5 against. This is progress at the committee stage and does not mean it has become law, nor should it be confused with the CLARITY Act.
2. Payward plans to launch U.S. compliant on-chain perpetual contracts: The parent company of Kraken plans to enter the Hyperliquid HIP-3 market, with Bitnomial taking on exchange and clearing responsibilities, and NinjaTrader Clearing handling customer accounts. The plan still requires regulatory approval and does not mean the existing Hyperliquid market is fully open to U.S. customers.
3. Circle officially launches Arc mainnet: Circle announced on September 16 the launch of the Arc public mainnet, aimed at payments, tokenized assets, and institutional finance, with network fees paid in USDC. The company stated that it has completed the genesis minting of ARC tokens but emphasized that this does not constitute a commitment to launch ARC to the public; the mainnet launch and the public trading of tokens are two separate matters.

# 5. Today's Financial Calendar

Data and Event Schedule

The following times are in Beijing time (UTC+8), and the focus level is based on the editor's judgment.
Time
Country/Region
Event
Focus Level

| Date and Time | Country | Event Description | Rating | |--------------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------|--------| | September 17, 19:00 | UK | Bank of England Interest Rate Decision and Minutes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | September 17, 20:30 | USA | Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending September 12 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | September 17, 20:30 | USA | September Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey | ⭐⭐⭐ | | September 17, 20:30 | USA | August Housing Starts and Building Permits | ⭐⭐⭐ | | September 17, 22:00 | USA | SEC Roundtable on 24-Hour Trading Preparedness | ⭐⭐⭐ |

Key Event Outlook

• Bank of England: Focus on voting divergences and inflation wording, not just whether rates change.
• U.S. Employment and Housing Data: Observe if economic resilience continues to support tightening expectations and the pressure on interest-sensitive sectors.
• SEC Roundtable: Focus on discussions around overnight trading, clearing operations, and system resilience; holding the meeting does not mean that the 24-hour trading rule has been approved.

Institutional Views

According to media reports, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group, believes that a unanimous rate hike shows the Federal Reserve's consistent stance against inflation. Ohsung Kwon, Chief Equity Strategist at Wells Fargo, points out that earnings improvements are extending to more non-AI companies. Both suggest that macro valuation pressures and corporate earnings growth may coexist, and stock selection needs to differentiate between thematic heat and actual earnings realization.

Disclaimer: This article is for market information reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Market conditions change, and trading should be based on quotes available at the time.