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Sector performance bar chart for the week ending September 21 2026, technology leading while energy and utilities lag
Photo: StockCharts

Dow Jones Falls 1.65% for Third Week as AI Stocks Lift Nasdaq

NBC News2 min read6 sources

Why is the Dow Jones falling this week?

The Dow Jones (^DJI) fell 1.65% to close around 51,350 on Friday, its third straight weekly loss, as Treasury yields near 5% dragged utilities and financials lower while AI mega-caps lifted the Nasdaq 0.73%.

Key numbers

DJIA weekly change-1.65%Third consecutive weekly loss
Nasdaq Composite weekly change+0.73%Widest DJIA/Nasdaq weekly gap of 2026
Equal-weight vs cap-weight S&P 500 lag-1.2 ppRSP/SPY correlation at 0.47, a 20-year low (per [4])
10-year Treasury yield5.18%Highest level in 19 years
Utilities sector weekly-3.0%Worst-performing rate-sensitive sector of the week
META single-day gain (Sep 22)+11.43%Muse AI launch drove Nasdaq to record close of 27,122

What happened

The Dow Jones (^DJI) fell 1.65% to close around 51,350 on Friday, its third straight weekly loss, as Treasury yields near 5% dragged utilities and financials lower while AI mega-caps lifted the Nasdaq 0.73%. The 2.4-percentage-point gap between the two indexes is the widest weekly split of 2026, revealing how a handful of AI giants — NVIDIA, Meta, and Microsoft — are propping up the broader market. The equal-weighted S&P 500, which gives every company the same weight, trailed the standard index by 1.2%, confirming most stocks actually fell. Utilities dropped 3% and financials fell 2.3% as the 10-year Treasury yield hit 5.18%, its highest level in 19 years.

Why it matters

The Dow Jones is widely read as a health check of the broad US economy, so three consecutive weekly losses matter even when the headline Nasdaq number looks fine. The gap between AI giants and everything else means most companies are not sharing in any technology boom — and rate-sensitive businesses like banks and utilities are being squeezed by borrowing costs they cannot easily pass on. If Treasury yields keep climbing, the pressure on financials, factories, and housing could spread far beyond the indexes that AI stocks have been masking.

Who this affects

Marketbearish
High impact
Most sectors fell; AI mega-cap stocks alone gained this week.
Companymixed
Medium impact
NVIDIA and Meta gained; bank and industrial stocks fell.
Competitorsmixed
Medium impact
AI-scale tech rivals gained; utilities and financials hit hardest.
Industrybearish
High impact
Narrow AI leadership masks broad stock market deterioration.

Dow Jones vs Nasdaq, S&P 500, Equal-Weight S&P 500

Dow Jones Industrial Average^DJI-1.65%+6.68%51,350
Nasdaq Composite^IXIC+0.73%+16.13%~27,122
S&P 500^GSPC~-0.10%+12.51%~7,696
S&P 500 Equal Weight ETFRSP~-1.30%——

As of 2026-09-24

How we got here

  1. DJIA drops 419 points as Iran strikes push Brent above $93; yields spike to 4.8%.

  2. Fed hikes 25 bps to 3.75%–4%; DJIA falls 631 points; 10-year yield tops 5.04%.

  3. DJIA ends second straight losing week at -1.7%; Nasdaq rises +0.7%, gap widens.

  4. Nasdaq hits record 27,122; META surges 11.43% on Muse AI platform launch.

  5. 10-year yield hits 5.18%, a 19-year high; Trump-Xi summit opens in Washington.

What to watch

  • FOMC Oct 28 decision — another hike would deepen rate-sensitive sector pain.2026-10-28
  • Q3 earnings — AI mega-cap results test whether premium valuations hold.2026-10-15
  • Iran ceasefire or Hormuz reopening could collapse oil prices and allow Fed to pause.Q4 2026

Educational content only. Not investment advice.

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