Tapeboard Blog — daily market pulse & trade breakdowns
Daily US market recaps, weekly and monthly reviews, and notes on building a professional-grade terminal for retail traders. Written from the tape, not the press release.
September 2026 Stock Market Recap: Tech Rallies While Dow Slides
September 2026 split the tape: the Nasdaq gained 1.74% and tech led all sectors while the Dow fell 4.96%, small caps dropped 5.90%, the 10-year yield jumped to 5.29%, and WTI crude climbed 10%.
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Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: October 1, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
VEEA carries the highest IBKR borrow fee on October 1, 2026 at 788.3% annualized, with 11 names on today's market-wide list sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
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Stock Market Today: October 1, 2026 — Indexes Grind Higher, Small Caps Lead
On October 1, 2026, the S&P 500 rose 0.19% to 7,666.45, the Nasdaq added 0.04% to 26,871.60, and the Russell 2000 led major indexes with a 0.35% gain to 2,806.62, while energy and technology sectors outperformed and health care lagged.
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What we built in September 2026
September on Tapeboard: a new chart across the terminal, alerts you set on the chart that follow you to the Alerts tab, live futures, a filing viewer with Ask AI, a scanner you can talk to, and a rebuilt notification bell. What changed, how to use it, and where to click.
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Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 30, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
JZ carries the costliest borrow fee in today's market-wide ranking at 556.2% annualized as of September 30, 2026, with 15 names sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
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Stock Market Today: September 30, 2026 — Tech Holds Up as Dow Slides 442 Points
On September 30, 2026, the S&P 500 slipped 0.25% to 7,651.54 and the Dow fell 0.86% to 50,906.05, while the Nasdaq rose 0.24% to 26,861.06 as technology led and consumer staples lagged.
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Trading Halts Today: September 30, 2026 — 38 Stocks Halted (LULD & T1)
Tapeboard tracked 38 trading halts on September 30, 2026 — 31 LULD/volatility pauses, 3 T1 news-pending halts, and 4 other regulatory halts — with LQDA the most notable name after repeated volatility halts and an extended T3 pause.
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What is a Bear Market? Definition, Formula, and Example
A bear market is a decline of 20% or more in a broad market index from its most recent closing peak, typically lasting months and accompanied by contracting earnings and elevated volatility.
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What is a Blue-Chip Stock? Definition, Formula, and Example
A blue-chip stock is a large, financially sound, market-leading company with a long record of stable earnings and dividends, typically a component of a major index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or S&P 100.
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What is a Bull Market? Definition, Formula, and Example
A bull market is a sustained period in which a broad market index rises at least 20% from its most recent trough, accompanied by expanding breadth, rising earnings, and positive investor sentiment.
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What is a Candlestick Chart? Definition, Formula, and Example
A candlestick chart is a price chart where each period is drawn as a body spanning the open-to-close range and wicks spanning the high-low extremes, encoding four prices per bar in a single visual unit.
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What is a Penny Stock? Definition, Formula, and Example
A penny stock is a share of a small company trading below $5 per share, as defined by SEC Rule 3a51-1, typically quoted over-the-counter with thin liquidity, wide spreads, and elevated fraud risk.
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Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 29, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
MSGY carries the highest IBKR borrow fee at 649.6% annualized as of September 29, 2026, and 12 names on the market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
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Stock Market Today: September 29, 2026 — S&P 500 Extends Winning Streak, Nasdaq Falls
The S&P 500 closed at 7670.84, extending its winning streak, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.09% to 26797.54.
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Most Shorted Stocks Today: September 29, 2026 — Top 25 Squeeze Candidates
The most shorted stock on September 29, 2026 is KOD with a Tapeboard squeeze score of 99.7, and the board is dominated by FINRA threshold-flagged names, with 18 of the 25 listed.
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Top Short-Squeeze Candidates Today: September 29, 2026 — 7-Factor Leaderboard
KOD leads the September 29, 2026 squeeze leaderboard at 99.7/100, and seven of the top 10 composite scores also sit on the FINRA threshold list.
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Trading Halts Today: September 29, 2026 — 24 Stocks Halted (LULD & T1)
Tapeboard tracked 24 trading halts on September 29, 2026 — 20 LULD/volatility, 2 T1 news-pending and 2 other regulatory — with the most notable being the T1 news-pending halt in SHFS.
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Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 25, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
INLF carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 313.3% annualized as of September 25, 2026, with 5 names in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
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Stock Market Today: September 25, 2026 — Dow Leads, VIX Slides Below 15
On September 25, 2026, the S&P 500 rose 0.51% to 7,743.41, the Dow Jones gained 0.93% to 51,828.62, and the Nasdaq added 0.48% to 27,068.72 as the VIX dropped 5.11% to 14.87 and health care led all sectors.
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Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 16, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
BIAF leads Tapeboard's market-wide ranking with an 854.2% annualized borrow fee as of September 16, 2026, with 14 names sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tiers.
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Most Shorted Stocks Today: September 16, 2026 — Top 25 Squeeze Candidates
On September 16, 2026, PLAY leads the most shorted stocks leaderboard with a 74.4 squeeze score, 32.5% short interest and a 47.6% borrow fee, while every name on the top 25 sits on the FINRA threshold list.
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Top Short-Squeeze Candidates Today: September 16, 2026 — 7-Factor Leaderboard
PLAY tops Tapeboard's September 16, 2026 squeeze leaderboard with a 74.4 composite score, on a day when elevated short interest and universal FINRA threshold-list presence — not extreme borrow fees — drove the rankings.
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Trading Halts Today: September 16, 2026 — 50 Stocks Halted (LULD & T1)
Tapeboard tracked 50 trading halts on September 16, 2026 — 43 LULD/volatility halts, 3 T1 news-pending halts, and 4 other regulatory halts — with JAGX, NCT, and MGN halted for pending news and DLXY halted 18 times on volatility.
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Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 15, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
BIAF carries the costliest borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 854.2% annualized as of September 15, 2026, with 17 names sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
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Stock Market Today: September 15, 2026 — Indexes Slip as Oil Spikes 3.8%
On September 15, 2026, the S&P 500 fell 0.45% to 7,585.73, the Nasdaq dropped 0.78% to 25,981.57, and the Dow lost 0.63% to 52,093.11, as WTI crude surged 3.81% to $105.25 and defensive sectors led while technology and utilities lagged.