Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on September 29, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images
of S&P500 Stocks fell on Thursday as investors focused on developments in U.S. Treasury yields and faced pressure from rising oil prices.
The market-wide index fell 0.2%. Nasdaq Composite It fell 0.5%. of Dow Jones Industrial Average It decreased by 72 points or 0.1%.
benchmark 10 year treasury Bond yields were little changed at 5.273%. of 2 years treasury The yield rose more than 2 basis points to 4.791%. The move comes after Federal Reserve President Christopher Waller said further interest rate hikes may be needed to curb inflation.
Oil prices also soared after President Donald Trump said he did not want to reach a deal with Iran to end the war, as the US reportedly prepared for a “major bombing raid” in the Middle East. brent crude oil It rose 3% to about $103 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate FuturesMeanwhile, it rose 3% to around $90.
Key areas of the market sensitive to rising borrowing costs, such as banks and technology, are again under pressure. intel and marvel technology Stock prices fell more than 3% each. bank of america and citygroup Reduce by 2% and 1% respectively.
“At the end of the day, I think it’s primarily energy-driven inflationary pressures that have changed the Fed’s stance and in many ways changed the long end of the curve as well,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird. “If tomorrow we announce a deal with Iran that is structurally sound and significantly reduces tensions in the region, and oil prices fall from $90 to $70 per barrel, yields will fall significantly.”
Yields and oil have been driving volatility in stocks in recent days as rising energy prices keep inflation high and raise concerns that the Federal Reserve will be forced to raise interest rates again.
Mayfield said stocks have generally been “fairly resilient” in the face of such pressures, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting record highs this week, but he doesn’t yet think there will be “more significant headwinds” for stocks to the point where the long end of the yield curve “requires significant upside.” He thinks yields could stabilize in the 5% to 6% range.
“We are in the process of the market adjusting to these new yields,” he added. “In many ways, the rise in yields reflects strong nominal growth and a slight increase in inflation, and if that continues to be the case, then the argument is that unless we have a major recession where the Fed cuts rates to zero, this type of long-term high interest rate environment, or long-term normal interest rate environment, is probably here to stay.”
Palantir Technologies was one of the few stocks to gain on Thursday, with the stock up 2% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock. The company argued that further upside could be expected in the future, as the entire addressable market may be “positioning itself for further incremental functional changes” as a result of the shift to sovereign AI and bespoke applications.
