Markets are entering the first full week of the fourth quarter as third-quarter earnings reports begin, with Delta Air Lines, Pepsi and Levi Strauss scheduled this week and major banks including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America expected to report next week. Softer-than-expected employment and inflation data reduced expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate increases during the final months of 2026, although Treasury yields remained at multidecade highs. Earnings expectations have risen unusually ahead of the reporting season: FactSet said S&P 500 earnings-per-share estimates increased 1.3% during the quarter, while a later review put the two-month increase at 2.2%, versus a median 1.9% decline during comparable pre-earnings periods since 2000. FactSet expects 12.1% year-over-year revenue growth and 29.1% earnings growth, potentially extending above-25% growth to three consecutive quarters. Utilities, which had benefited from anticipated artificial-intelligence infrastructure power demand, are down 7% since February against a 10% broader-market gain, while the IPO market weakened to 32 listings raising about $35.4 billion in the third quarter, or $8.9 billion excluding SK Hynix’s blockbuster U.S. listing. Investors are also watching possible delays involving Oura, Anthropic and OpenAI, as well as potential volatility in October.