Why Oil Prices Pushed Stocks Up and Down Last Week

U.S. stocks ended the week of September 25, 2026 higher. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all finished up after a bumpy ride tied to oil, borrowing costs and big tech stocks.

The Dow rose 460 points, or 0.9%, to 51,810. The S&P 500 rose 39.28 points, or 0.5%. That broke a three-week losing streak for the Dow, according to MarketWatch.

On Sept. 24, the Dow fell for a third day in a row. Government borrowing costs, called Treasury yields, hit a fresh 19-year high and oil rose, according to Investopedia. The Wall Street Journal called its Sept. 24 update "Stock Market News, Sept. 24, 2026: Bond Selloff Worsens ..." as higher yields and oil fed fears that inflation, rising prices, had survived, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Yields slipped a little on Monday and Tuesday as oil fell, then jumped on Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal. Brent oil was around $106 a barrel while yields rose, according to The Wall Street Journal. Stocks ended lower Wednesday, dragged down by Alphabet and Amazon.

Thursday brought another small drop for the S&P 500. Worry about the Middle East pushed up oil and yields, according to Reuters. On Sept. 25, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and was set to end a three-day losing run caused by wild moves in yields, according to BNN Bloomberg.

Wall Street rose on September 25 as people bought AI stocks, with Microsoft up, even as high oil and high yields left investors nervous, according to Reuters. Oil fell as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose and yields dropped, according to Yahoo Finance. The 10-year yield was 5.2% on September 25. For the week, the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow all finished higher, according to Investopedia.

Earlier in September, stocks started soft when yields and oil were up. The Dow fell 0.79%, the S&P 500 fell 0.71% and the Nasdaq fell 1.03%. On an earlier Thursday, the Dow rose 0.62%, the S&P 500 rose 1.14% and the Nasdaq rose 1.69% when oil eased.

The broader context here is that oil acts like the fuel bill for the whole economy. When crude stays above $100, expected price rises firm up and long-term lenders want extra pay to lock up money. That pushed yields to a 19-year high midweek and hurt stock values, especially big growth stocks. The late-week AI buying did not change that math. It left the market leaning on a few cash-rich companies.

In my view, the order of events tells the story. Yields eased for two days as oil fell, then both jumped together, then both fell Friday for a relief rally. That points to oil as the short-term driver of rate moves. For savers and borrowers, risk stays high. Stocks and bonds fall together on the same oil worry, so holding both protects less. A 5.2% 10-year keeps mortgage rates and pressure on stock prices high, even in a winning week.

Looking at what this means for flow, Friday looks short-term. Lower oil and lower yields let fast and regular buyers add risk back, led by AI giants. The question is if that holds if Brent jumps again or Middle East headlines worsen the worry cited into Thursday. With the Dow at 51,810, next week starts fresh but with the same trigger in place.