Markets digest, 2 October 2026: US stocks close higher as the VIX eases and the euro slips

US stocks closed higher on Friday 2 October and the Cboe Volatility Index fell, while Bitcoin and Ether ended slightly lower and the euro’s reference rate against the dollar dropped for a second day.

Stocks

The S&P 500 closed at 7,722.72, up from 7,666.45 on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to 51,176.96 from 50,926.56, and the Nasdaq Composite closed at 27,190.860, up from 26,871.600, as FRED publishes the index to three decimal places.

Crypto

Bitcoin ended the day at $84,478.54 on Coinbase, down from $84,759.64. Ether slipped to $2,666.83 from $2,702.32.

Futures and options

The VIX closed at 15.31, down from 16.39. The CFTC’s weekly Commitments of Traders report, published on Friday with positions as of Tuesday 29 September, is summarised for gold and silver under Metals below.

Energy and commodities

FRED had still published no oil or gas prices after Tuesday 29 September by this morning, so the latest values remain WTI at $96.16 a barrel, Brent at $113.96 and Henry Hub natural gas at $3.18. The EIA published a review of the third quarter today, saying crude oil prices and refinery margins generally rose over the period; our brief has the details. For background, see what moves oil prices.

Metals

There were no new official releases from the World Gold Council or the LBMA. In the CFTC’s report, non-commercial traders held 249,736 long and 31,104 short COMEX gold futures contracts as of 29 September; total gold open interest was 406,456 contracts, down 6,344 on the week. In silver, non-commercial traders were 33,482 contracts long and 11,399 short, with open interest at 107,047.

Forex

The ECB’s euro reference rate against the dollar was 1.1225, down from 1.1298 on Thursday. The euro was quoted at 0.85033 pounds, down from 0.85373, and at 176.99 yen, down from 178.49. FRED had not yet published Friday’s Treasury yields; the latest figures are 5.24% for the 10-year and 4.78% for the 2-year, both for Thursday.

On the calendar

World Investor Week, coordinated by the International Organization of Securities Commissions, runs from 5 to 11 October. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation opened it with new research on investors’ knowledge of risk; read our brief.