Japan Meteorological Agency said a magnitude-4.9 earthquake struck southern Ibaraki at about 04:45 local time on Sept. 29. The quake registered a maximum seismic intensity of 4 on the JMA scale, with a hypocenter depth of about 50 km; shaking was felt in Tokyo.

Deutsche Bank strategist Parag Thatte says the rotation into tech that began in late July still has room to run. Since late July, large-cap growth and tech names are up about 14% while the rest of the S&P 500 is down roughly 3%. Their relative performance has moved into the upper half of its long-term trend channel but has not reached the top. Positioning in large-cap growth and tech is about 0.8 standard deviations above neutral — a clear overweight but well below prior peaks (early June hit the 99th percentile). Single-stock options activity has surged in large-cap growth and tech, followed by consumer cyclicals, industrial cyclicals and defensives; energy volumes have fallen, while materials and financials are around average. Deutsche Bank says the rotation is in a deeper phase but still has room, and reiterates that rate volatility, not the level of rates, remains the key variable for equities.

Capital Economics says the recent US Treasury sell-off looks somewhat overdone. Economist James Reilly attributes the move in the 10-year US Treasury yield — now near its June 2007 peak — mainly to higher oil prices and a stronger US economy, not to AI-related issuance or fiscal stress. Reilly expects Fed tightening to be less than markets currently price and projects the 10-year yield will fall to about 4.25% by end-2027. He adds that AI-linked issuance could exert some upward pressure on yields but less than media reports imply and likely offset by shifts in monetary policy expectations, and that no recent fiscal developments justify a large, sustained yield spike.