US Equity Markets End Higher After Government Bond Yields Fall

04:23 PM EDT, 10/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended higher Thursday after government bond yields declined as supportive macroeconomic data restrained odds of a policy rate increase in October. * Initial jobless claims fell sequentially to 197,000 in the week ended Sept. 26 from an upwardly revised 198,000 in the previous week, according to the US Labor Department. * The S&P Global US manufacturing index for September was revised to 55.9 from the flash reading of 57.0, versus expectations for no revision in a Bloomberg-compiled poll. * The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 54.5 in September from 54.6 in August, compared with the 55.0 forecast in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. * The probability that the Federal Reserve will raise its target rate by 25 basis points in October fell to 26% from 37.6% a day ago and 68.6% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. * November West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $2.65 to settle at $93.07 per barrel, while December Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $4.37 at $102.40. * Accenture (ACN) shares surged 16%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after the company reported stronger-than-expected fiscal Q4 results. * Paramount Skydance (PSKY) CEO David Ellison has asked CNN CEO Mark Thompson to continue after Paramount completes its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the Wall Street Journal reported. Paramount shares fell roughly about 9.6%, the worst performer on the S&P 500.