Equities ripped back through Friday's session, S&P 500 up 0.86% to 7,657 and Nasdaq up 0.96% to 26,333, snapping a four-day losing streak even as August core CPI ran hot at 0.3% versus 0.2% expected.
The bid was relief, not conviction: Brent's Thursday spike to a Strait of Hormuz/Red Sea supply scare faded, the 10-year backed off its cycle highs, and VIX eased roughly 7%, giving equity buyers cover to step in front of the FOMC. Growth led, with the Dow and Nasdaq both gaining close to 1% while Russell 2000 lagged at 0.45%, and single-name catalysts like SpaceX's compute-deal headline and Bloom Energy's S&P 500 inclusion added idiosyncratic lift on top of the macro bounce. Breadth improved off Thursday's 2-to-1 decliner tape but the week still closed net lower.
Into the close, price reclaimed the zone above the recent breakdown pivot and is pressing back toward the upper edge of the week's range, treat that as an indicative call-wall/flip zone rather than confirmed dealer positioning given no live GEX this run. The real event risk sits six days out: FOMC blackout is in effect, and futures are leaning toward a hike rather than a cut, a rare setup that keeps upside capped into Wednesday.
The risk: any weekend escalation around Hormuz, the Red Sea, or Saudi infrastructure reflates oil and long yields fast, and this relief rally reverts to the four-day downtrend before dip-buyers get a second look Monday.