{"id":71690,"date":"2026-09-11T16:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T20:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/markets-rally-as-rate-hike-odds-surge-centcom-enforces-blockade\/71690\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T16:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T20:38:13","slug":"markets-rally-as-rate-hike-odds-surge-centcom-enforces-blockade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/markets-rally-as-rate-hike-odds-surge-centcom-enforces-blockade\/71690\/","title":{"rendered":"Markets Rally as Rate Hike Odds Surge; CENTCOM Enforces Blockade"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. stock indexes snapped a four-day losing streak<\/strong>, with the <strong>Nasdaq Composite (<a href=\"\/stock\/%5EIXIC\">^IXIC<\/a>)<\/strong> gaining <strong>1.01%<\/strong> and the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (<a href=\"\/stock\/%5EDJI\">^DJI<\/a>)<\/strong> rising nearly <strong>514 points<\/strong> as retreating <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a> offset firm inflation data.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Market-implied odds for a Federal Reserve rate hike next week surged to approximately 90%<\/strong> following an August CPI report that showed headline inflation holding at <strong>3.4%<\/strong> year-over-year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong> confirmed that <strong>99 commercial vessels<\/strong> have been redirected as of September 11 to ensure compliance with a maritime blockade, highlighting escalating geopolitical tensions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida<\/strong> warned that a single rate hike is unlikely to be sufficient, suggesting that if the Fed moves next week, <strong>additional increases are almost certain<\/strong> to follow.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commercial bank credit data<\/strong> from the Federal Reserve\u2019s H.8 release showed <strong>bank credit growing at a 5.5% annual rate<\/strong> in the most recent quarter, even as the central bank prepares to tighten policy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Market Rebound Despite Inflation Headwinds<\/h2>\n<p>Wall Street ended the week on a high note as investors looked past a &quot;bitter dose&quot; of economic data. The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/%5EGSPC\">^GSPC<\/a>)<\/strong> rose <strong>0.87%<\/strong> to close at <strong>7,657.49<\/strong>, while the <strong>Nasdaq (<a href=\"\/stock\/%5EIXIC\">^IXIC<\/a>)<\/strong> climbed <strong>263.06 points<\/strong> to <strong>26,344.78<\/strong>. The rally was fueled by a pullback in international oil prices, with <strong>Brent Crude<\/strong> sliding <strong>2.7%<\/strong> to <strong>$104.68<\/strong>, providing much-needed relief to risk appetite.<\/p>\n<p>Technology stocks led the gains, notably Dell Technologies (<a href=\"\/stock\/DELL\">DELL<\/a>), which surged <strong>12%<\/strong> following an &quot;Outperform&quot; initiation by RBC Capital. Conversely, Oracle (<a href=\"\/stock\/ORCL\">ORCL<\/a>) saw its shares dip nearly <strong>2%<\/strong> as investors weighed strong cloud revenue against rising capital expenditures.<\/p>\n<h2>Fed Poised for First Hike in Three Years<\/h2>\n<p>The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the <strong>Consumer Price Index (CPI)<\/strong> rose <strong>0.4%<\/strong> in August, bringing the annual rate to <strong>3.4%<\/strong>. While the figures were largely in line with economist expectations, the &quot;firm&quot; nature of the report solidified expectations for a <strong>25-basis-point rate hike<\/strong> at the upcoming September 15-16 meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Writing for <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, Nick Timiraos noted that investors have &quot;all but concluded&quot; the Fed will act next week. <strong>Richard Clarida<\/strong>, now an economic advisor at Pimco, emphasized that a quarter-point move would reflect a judgment that rates have been &quot;in the wrong place,&quot; suggesting a cycle of hikes rather than a one-off adjustment.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Tensions and the Naval Blockade<\/h2>\n<p>In the Middle East, <strong>CENTCOM<\/strong> reported that U.S. forces have redirected <strong>99 commercial vessels<\/strong> to ensure &quot;total compliance&quot; with a maritime blockade on Iranian ports. This marks an increase from earlier in the week as the U.S. military continues to enforce strict passage rules in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>While the blockade has contributed to recent volatility in energy markets, reports of potential diplomatic talks in Oman helped cool oil prices on Friday. More than <strong>50 vessels<\/strong> supporting humanitarian aid have been allowed passage, though the military remains on high alert following recent strikes on IRGC targets.<\/p>\n<h2>Banking Sector Stability<\/h2>\n<p>The Federal Reserve also released its weekly <strong>H.8 report<\/strong>, detailing the assets and liabilities of commercial banks. The data indicates that <strong>commercial and industrial loans<\/strong> have seen significant fluctuations, recently decreasing at a <strong>2.4% annual rate<\/strong> in July, while <strong>real estate loans<\/strong> maintained a steady growth of <strong>2.1%<\/strong>. These figures provide a critical backdrop for the Fed as it evaluates the impact of higher borrowing costs on the broader financial system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. stock indexes snapped a four-day losing streak, with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gaining 1.01% and the Dow [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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