Stock Market Today: Fed Minutes Flag Another Hike, 10-Year at 5.36%
Stock market today: stocks retreated from records on Oct. 7 as Fed minutes pointed to another hike by year-end and the 10-year yield hit 5.36%, a 24-year high.
| Index or measure | Close, Oct. 7 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 51,179.87 | -0.66% |
| S&P 500 | 7,801.77 | -0.22% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 27,538.69 | -0.22% |
| Russell 2000 | n/a | -1.31% |
| 10-year Treasury yield | Peak of 5.36% | Highest since April 2002 |
| 30-year Treasury yield | 5.66% (high of 5.73%) |
U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, retreating from record highs, as a bond sell-off pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to its highest level in more than 24 years and the Federal Reserve’s September minutes pointed to another rate increase.
Fed minutes keep a hike on the table
Minutes of the September 15 to 16 meeting, released Wednesday, showed the committee voted 12-0 to raise the target range a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.00%. Most participants said another increase “would likely be appropriate by year end,” while stressing that decisions at future meetings would depend on incoming information. The minutes name no meeting. Sixteen of 18 participants projected an end-2026 rate of 4.125% or higher, up from six in June, and many said that the longer energy prices stay high, the greater the risk of broader price pressures. The two remaining meetings this year are October 27 to 28 and December 8 to 9. Traders priced roughly 17% odds of a hike this month. MarketWatch summarized the document as showing no appetite for a series of hikes.
Bonds and oil
The 10-year yield reached 5.36% and the 30-year touched 5.73%. Brent crude stayed near $100 a barrel amid Houthi attacks and incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, and a tropical storm approaching the Gulf Coast led Chevron to evacuate nonessential staff from offshore platforms. Bitcoin fell below $83,000, with about $696 million in liquidations over 24 hours.
AI names and a debt-funded chip purchase
Nvidia and AMD slipped less than 1% from their all-time highs. SpaceX was down about 2% in early trading after the Financial Times reported it is seeking $40 billion of debt to buy Nvidia chips, a plan MarketWatch described as chasing “stunning” AI returns with heavy borrowing.
Breadth and sentiment
The small-cap Russell 2000 underperformed, and Reuters noted that the S&P 500 and the Dow snapped four-day winning streaks while the Nasdaq posted its first down day in six. Futures markets priced less than a 20% chance of an October hike, down from 37.6% a week earlier, according to CME’s FedWatch tool as cited by Reuters. The day followed Tuesday’s records: the S&P 500 closed at 7,818.93 and the Nasdaq at 27,599.89. Wednesday’s closes left both about 0.2% lower on the day and the Dow 0.66% lower.
Other movers
Constellation Brands fell 5% despite beating earnings expectations. Webull dropped about 20% after a congressional report raised national security concerns about its ties to China. Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft together make up roughly a fifth of the S&P 500, a concentration that Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi said belies the market’s record highs.
Prepared with AI assistance from public sources and reviewed under our editorial policy. Not investment advice.
