Hot core PCE and tariff signals leave QQQ down 3.06%, trailing SPY

QQQ opened 0.42% lower and finished down 3.06%. SPY ended 2.28% lower and outperformed QQQ by 0.78 percentage points. Hotter core PCE, weaker consumer sentiment, expanding tariff signals, and major AI capital moves framed the day.

Published Sep 13, 2026

QQQ: -3.06%
SPY: -2.28%
QQQ − SPY: -0.78%

What shaped the session

Inflation and consumer sentiment

Core PCE rose 2.8% year over year versus 2.7% expected, while the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was 57.0 versus 57.9 expected.

Tariff policy signals

Canada said it would implement retaliatory tariffs, and Trump said pharmaceutical tariffs would be announced soon.

AI capital and consolidation

SoftBank was reported to be considering a $1 trillion U.S. AI industrial investment, while xAI announced an all-stock acquisition of X.

Key news

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←Mar 27:QQQ's rebound fades into a 0.72% loss as AI infrastructure and tariff responses lead·View all March 2025 QQQ/SPY reviews·Mar 29:AI financing, Tesla protests and tariff escalation shape the weekend→