The short version

Stocks did the work on Tuesday and bonds mostly sat still. Every TSP stock fund finished higher, the F and G funds were close to flat, and the S Fund was the standout with a 1.29% gain.

How the TSP funds finished

C Fund rose 0.77% to $110.4207. It follows the S&P 500, which also gained 0.77%, so the match is as clean as it gets. The C Fund is up 0.62% year to date.

S Fund gained 1.29% to $104.0030, the only TSP fund to clear 1% on the day. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which holds the mid-sized and smaller U.S. companies outside the S&P 500. The context matters here. Its five-day return is just 0.10%, so Tuesday's jump mostly made up for a softer stretch earlier in the week. Year to date it is up 2.3%.

I Fund rose 0.65% to $61.6023. It follows the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index. Its five-day gain is 1.43% and its year-to-date gain is 9.95%, the best of any TSP fund so far in 2026.

F Fund slipped 0.03% to $21.1937. It tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index, and bonds were a hair softer. It is still up 1.6% for the year.

G Fund added 0.01% to $19.7148. It pays a Treasury-based rate and does not swing with the market, so a tiny steady gain is normal. Year to date it is up 0.63%.

The L Funds

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their results line up with how much stock each one holds. L 2055 through L 2075 carry the most stock and each gained 0.79%, with year-to-date gains of 4.01%. L 2050 rose 0.65%, L 2040 rose 0.57%, and L 2030 rose 0.45%. L Income, the most conservative, rose 0.22%.

Look at year to date and you will see most L Funds ahead of the C Fund's 0.62%. The I Fund's 9.95% is the reason, since the L Funds hold international stocks and the C Fund does not.

The 1% club

The S Fund was the only TSP fund above 1% on Tuesday. Outside the TSP, the Nasdaq Composite also topped that line, rising 1.04% to 22,863.68. Neither move is a verdict on anything by itself. A single strong day after a flat week is ordinary behavior for smaller-company stocks.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index figures below are labeled as the prior session close, so read them as a companion snapshot. They point the same direction as the TSP numbers.

  • S&P 500: up 0.77% to 6,890.07.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: up 0.76% to 49,174.50.
  • Nasdaq Composite: up 1.04% to 22,863.68.
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): up 0.82% to $339.21.
  • Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS): up 0.59% to $83.42.
  • Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND): down 0.05% to $74.93.
  • 10-Year Treasury yield: up 0.10% to 4.033%.

VTI gained a bit more than the S&P 500 because it also holds smaller companies, which had the stronger day. VXUS rising 0.59% lines up with the I Fund's 0.65%. BND dipped as the 10-year yield edged up, which is the usual seesaw: when yields rise, existing bond prices tend to ease. The size of the move was small.

What it means for your plan

A good Tuesday does not change much about a retirement plan built over decades. The same goes for a bad one. The S Fund's 1.29% jump looks big in a single line, but its five-day gain is only 0.10%, which shows how quickly daily moves wash out.

The more useful numbers are the longer ones. The I Fund's 9.95% year-to-date gain next to the C Fund's 0.62% is a reminder that different parts of the market take turns leading. Funds like the L Funds, or a broad total-market mix in an IRA, are built around that idea.

If your plan is sound, a daily recap is just a status check. Your contribution schedule and time horizon matter far more than any single session.

This recap is general information, not personal advice.