Stock Market Today: S&P 500 and Nasdaq Fall as Treasury Yields Hit 24-Year High

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 472 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 dropped roughly 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite lost around 0.9% in morning trading.

The key pressure came from bonds and energy. Brent crude moved back above $100 per barrel, while the 30-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.72%, its highest level since 2002. Investors were also waiting for the Federal Reserve’s September meeting minutes later in the day.

The reversal comes just one day after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh records.

Oil and Treasury Yields Reverse Tuesday’s Tailwind

Tuesday’s rally was helped by falling oil prices and slightly easier bond yields.

Wednesday brought the opposite setup.

Brent rebounded above $102 at one point, while the 10-year Treasury yield climbed toward 5.35% and the dollar index rose roughly 0.6%. Higher yields increase the discount rate applied to future corporate earnings and make bonds more competitive with equities, especially expensive growth stocks.

That dynamic has become increasingly important as Treasury yields remain above 5%.

Chip Stocks Lead the Decline

Technology was among the weakest parts of the market.

Micron fell about 2.3%, Nvidia slipped roughly 0.7%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped around 2.3%. Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were lower, while energy and healthcare managed modest gains.

The weakness also exposes the narrow breadth behind recent records.

Roughly 73% of S&P 500 stocks were falling Wednesday, while the number of stocks hitting new 52-week lows vastly exceeded those reaching new highs.

That follows a pattern Coinpaper highlighted when more than 70% of S&P 500 stocks remained at least 10% below their own highs.

Fed Minutes and Earnings Are the Next Tests

The Fed’s minutes could show how divided policymakers are after September’s unanimous 25-basis-point rate increase.

Markets now largely expect the Fed to hold rates steady in October, but another increase in December remains possible.

Attention will then shift quickly toward earnings season.

Analysts expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings to grow around 30.6% year over year, with technology and energy among the strongest contributors.

That earnings growth has helped explain why AI-heavy technology stocks have remained resilient even as bond yields moved to multi-decade highs.