September is historically known as the worst-performing month for U.S. equities. According to the 2026 Stock Trader’s Almanac, the S&P 500 index has recorded an average decline of 0.7% in September since 1950. The Dow has fallen 0.8% during the same period.
The 2026 Stock Trader’s Almanac also reported that the Nasdaq Composite has fallen 0.9% in September since 1971, and the small-cap benchmark — Russell 2000 — has declined 0.8% in the same month since 1979.
Moreover, a Bank of America research report has revealed that in September, the S&P 500 has lost 1.17% on average since 1928 and the broad-market index has ended in negative 56% of those years.
At this stage, it should be prudent to invest in low-beta (beta >0<1) high-yielding stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank in September. Five such stocks are: Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. ADM, The Travelers Companies Inc. TRV, Virtu Financial Inc. VIRT, Paycom Software Inc. PAYC and The Allstate Corp. ALL. Each of our picks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks year to date.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Volatility Reappears on Wall Street
This year, volatility has appeared on Wall Street since the first trading day of September. Market participants are worried about three immediate concerns.
First, the U.S.-Iran war escalated from Aug 30, for the first time since late July. As a result, crude oil prices spiked. The price of the U.S. benchmark — the West Texas Intermediate crude oil future — crossed $91 per barrel and the price of the global benchmark — the Brent crude oil future — crossed $95 per barrel.
Second, on Aug 28, in his remarks at the Fed’s annual symposium of economic policies in Jackson Hole, WY, Chairman Kevin Warsh warned about the sticky inflation rate. Higher crude oil prices will worsen the inflationary situation, forcing the Fed to hike the Fed fund rate anytime soon.
Third, the yield on the benchmark 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note reached its highest level since November 2023. Japan’s benchmark 10-Year Treasury Note yield touched 3% for the first time since 1996. The yield on U.K. 10-year government Gilt reached the highest level since June 2008. Yields on German and France Government bonds also moved higher.
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.
Archer-Daniels-Midland has been benefiting from its strategic endeavors. ADM continues to advance its Optimize, Drive and Grow pillars, enhancing productivity, accelerating cost savings, expanding BioSolutions and leveraging digital tools to unlock margin opportunities and boost customer reach.
