Finance Evening | US Stocks Slide as 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits Highest Since 2007

📊 Today's North American Markets

1. US Stocks Slide as 10-Year Treasury Yield Jumps to Highest Since 2007

Source: CNBC

US equities fell Wednesday as Treasury yields marched higher amid concerns that more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve may be coming. The S&P 500 dropped 0.75% to end at 7,706.03, the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.13% to close at 26,936.04, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 352.10 points, or 0.68%, to settle at 51,511.59.

Yields jumped after the latest purchasing managers' index readings came in hot. The 10-year Treasury note yield reached 5.135%, its highest level since July 2007, and saw its biggest one-day move since April 7, 2025; the 2-year yield hit its highest since May 2024 at 4.947%. Utilities and consumer discretionary stocks led the decline, each shedding more than 1%.

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said Wednesday that "further policy adjustments are likely to be needed" to get inflation under control. Crude oil futures moved up as well: Brent crude futures for November advanced about 3.9% to $103.08 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate settled up 1.8% at $92.16.

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2. Nasdaq Records Mask Warning Signs in Tech Stocks

Source: Yahoo Finance

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite hit back-to-back record highs this week, but the picture beneath the surface is not entirely bullish. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) is still down 14% from its June highs, and only three names in the index — AMD, Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor — are closer to their highs than the SOX itself, according to BTIG tech strategist Jonathan Krinsky.

Dispersion is widening: 10 of the 30 SOX names are still off more than 30% from their 52-week highs, with GlobalFoundries, KLA and On Semiconductor the worst, each down by more than 40%; the average SOX member is down 26%. Krinsky also noted that the S&P 500 has gained 1.2% over the last month while 9 of 11 sectors are negative, with five straight days of more 52-week lows than highs even as the index sits near all-time highs.

He compared the setup to the early days of the 2000 dot-com bubble, saying it is "hard to fight tech momentum right now, but we also can't ignore the extreme dispersion and increasing number of stats that rhyme with 2000," and that he remains cautious over the medium term. The run has been fueled by adoption of Meta's new autonomous AI agent, Muse, and by AMD passing a $1 trillion market valuation.

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3. Trump Discloses Millions in July Stock Trades Involving Microsoft, Nvidia, SpaceX

Source: BBC

President Donald Trump has disclosed millions of dollars' worth of stock market trades made during July, including in Elon Musk's SpaceX and tech and AI giants such as Microsoft. According to official documents, between $6.5m and $31m worth of Microsoft stock was sold on behalf of Trump, while they show purchases of between $165,000 and $400,000.

Across more than 1,000 trades, shares were bought and sold in AI company Nvidia and software firm Palantir, a contractor with the US Defense Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A White House spokesperson said Trump's stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third parties, adding that "neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested." "There are no conflicts of interest," the spokesperson said.

The filing also shows SpaceX stock was bought and sold on Trump's behalf. SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq in June; its shares have fluctuated since, sharply declining in July and August, but are currently trading 14% higher than their debut, the filing shows. Tesla shares were also bought and sold.

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4. October Rate Hike 'Very Much on the Table' as Market Odds Jump to 73%

Source: CNBC

An October interest rate hike is very much on the table after a top Federal Reserve official expressed support for one on Wednesday, as fresh economic readings showed intensifying inflation pressures. In remarks prepared for a housing conference in Chicago, Fed Governor Michael Barr said policymakers still have more work to do even after last week's quarter-percentage-point increase.

"In my base case, further policy adjustments are likely to be needed to ensure inflation comes down to target in a timely fashion," Barr said. The same day, S&P Global's flash gauges showed manufacturing and services activity at their highest in more than four years: the services index hit 58.7, a 59-month high; manufacturing reached 56.7, a 53-month peak; and the composite rose to 58.4, a 62-month high. Any reading above 50 represents growth.

Price pressures also climbed, with the firm's overall inflation measure at its highest since October 2022. Firms' input costs jumped at the steepest rate in four years, with fuel and transport costs spiking due to rising oil prices. On employment, job growth in the PMI surveys rose at a pace not seen since June 2022. The odds of a hike at the Oct. 27-28 FOMC meeting jumped to 73% on CME's FedWatch. The 2-year Treasury yield climbed more than 13 basis points to 4.9%. Last week the FOMC raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.75%-4%.

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5. US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Tops 7% for First Time in More Than Two Years

Source: CBS News

Mortgage rates soared past 7% last week, reaching their highest level in more than two years. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.12% in the week ending Sept. 18, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association; it was last that high in May 2024.

The higher rates add to buyers' borrowing costs at a time when housing prices remain near record highs. As fixed rates continued to climb, more buyers opted for riskier adjustable-rate mortgages, which offer a lower initial rate, said Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist at the MBA. Rates for 5/1 ARMs were more than 1% lower than fixed-rate mortgages, he said.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage tends to follow the 10-year Treasury yield, which has spiked in recent weeks as investors fret over inflation, government debt and higher borrowing costs. Last week the Fed hiked rates by a quarter of a percentage point. The 10-year Treasury was hovering around 5% on Wednesday, up more than a percentage point since the war in Iran started in late February. Freddie Mac will release its own data Thursday; its rate was 6.95% as of Sept. 17.

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6. Amazon Is Trying to Rehire Workers It Laid Off, Emails Show

Source: Business Insider

Amazon wants former employees back, including some it laid off. The company is reaching out to eligible former employees about open roles across Amazon, including in its cloud-computing and AI businesses, according to recruiter emails obtained by Business Insider and a company spokesperson. In one outreach last month, Amazon's AI agent organization, led by AWS VP Swami Sivasubramanian, invited former employees in AI and machine learning fields to discuss new roles through what a recruiter called "Swami's Boomerang Reengagement Initiative."

In another case, an AWS Finance recruiter offered a former employee a shortened path back to an offer and asked whether Amazon's return-to-office policy had driven the employee away. "A lot has changed since you were here, and there's some really compelling work happening across AI/ML right now," one of the emails stated. The emails show Amazon tapping its alumni network in the fight for AI talent against the likes of Google, OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic.

Amazon has cut more than 30,000 jobs in multiple rounds of layoffs over the past year, among the largest workforce reductions in its history. Spokesperson Haley Silva said boomerang hiring is a normal, longstanding companywide practice, not a new program limited to AI or cloud computing; eligible former workers can include people Amazon laid off, but the company is recruiting for open roles and is not specifically targeting employees who left because of RTO. Returning employees made up 35% of US new hires in March 2025, up from 31% a year earlier, according to ADP data; in the tech sector they accounted for nearly two-thirds.

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7. As Trump and Xi Meet, Chinese Automakers Could Be a Pandora's Box for the US Auto Industry

Source: CNBC

As President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, US politicians as well as the global automotive industry are warning that allowing Chinese automakers to enter the market could be a Pandora's box. Trump said earlier this month he might be "OK" letting Chinese automakers into the US if they produced vehicles domestically, leading a consortium of auto trade groups representing every major facet of the American auto industry to urge him to rethink that position.

It was an uncharacteristically unified message from automakers operating in the US, franchised dealers and suppliers. More than two dozen Democratic lawmakers followed that push with their own letter, urging Trump to keep US restrictions against Chinese automakers in place. "It's not at this point a partisan issue," Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., told reporters Wednesday. "It's about whether we want to make cars in America and whether we want a manufacturing base that can pivot when we need it. If we want that, we shouldn't let them in our country."

Trump is scheduled to host Xi and a delegation from China on Thursday and Friday that reportedly could include Wang Chuanfu, founder of BYD, China's largest automaker, and Robin Zeng, founder of CATL, the world's top battery maker for electric vehicles. Reuters reported that GM CEO Mary Barra is expected among attendees at Trump's state dinner for Xi, along with several other US executives including Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Global market share for Chinese brands jumped nearly 70% from 2020 to 2025, and their European market share hit 12% in August, according to Dataforce. China auto expert and former General Motors executive Michael Dunne said Chinese automakers would "quickly overwhelm America's auto industry, just as it is now ravaging Europe."

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8. Oil Prices Rise to Snap Five-Day Losing Streak as Iran Vows It Will Not Surrender

Source: CNBC

Crude oil prices rose Wednesday, ending five consecutive days of losses, after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed the Islamic Republic will not surrender to the US. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 3.9% to close at $103.08 per barrel; US West Texas Intermediate advanced 1.8% to settle at $92.16.

"They have tested the strength and the steadfastness of Iran and they have learned that Iran cannot be made to surrender," Pezeshkian said in his address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that US officials had a "very good meeting" with Iran's delegation and that it lasted about three hours. Earlier in his address to the UN, Trump said he has a "big decision" over whether to reach a deal with Tehran or "annihilate" the country.

Reuters reported Tuesday that Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the US agrees to ease military pressure and lift its blockade of Iranian ports. Paolo Broccardo, chief executive officer at private digital bank BankPro, said "Pakistan's mediation efforts with Tehran could also reduce the risk of a broader escalation," though he expects no huge jump in oil prices for now. US crude prices are down 8% on the week while Brent has lost nearly 1%.

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9. Bitcoin Consolidates Near $86,000 as Rally Narrows

Source: CoinDesk

Bitcoin is consolidating on Wednesday after an explosive breakout on Monday, trading at $86,379 in the European morning, up 0.24% since midnight UTC and 1.3% over 24 hours as daily trading volume dipped 36% to $38 billion. Beneath the surface the rally has narrowed sharply, with 38 of the 100 CoinDesk 100 constituents lower on the day even as the index itself rose 0.67% to 1,926.99; over the rolling 24 hours, 87 were higher and 13 lower, which places the weakening in the past few hours rather than on Tuesday.

The majors split rather than moved together: XRP added 3.3% to $1.62 and bitcoin cash rose 2.0% to $351.59, while ether slipped 0.089% to $2,750.24 and Chainlink edged down to $12.89. Traditional havens were sold alongside: gold fell 0.85% to $4,321 and silver dropped 2.2% to $65.53, while the dollar index rose 0.21% to 100.76 and US equity futures sat close to unchanged, leaving crypto as one of the few places with a bid at all.

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10. Aldi Is Cutting Prices on a Third of Its Products

Source: USA Today

With new price reductions taking effect, nearly one-third of regularly stocked Aldi products are now priced lower than last year, the company announced in a news release provided to USA TODAY. The company said the cuts will deliver an estimated $86 million in savings to customers.

"Customers trust us to help them make the most of their grocery budget, and we never stop looking for ways to run our business more efficiently so we can pass along savings," Scott Patton, Aldi's chief commercial officer, said in the release. "As shoppers head into fall routines and healthier habits, we're making additional investments to lower prices on our better-for-you favorites." Items included in the price cuts are fall staples such as Bartlett pears, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and spaghetti squash; the company noted that its Kirkwood chicken breast family packs are $1.99 a pound, the lowest price since 2022.

The reductions will run from Sept. 23 until at least Nov. 3 at stores nationwide. They come as grocery shoppers have seen increased prices this year. In August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that food-at-home prices were up 2.2% from a year earlier, with prices for fresh fruit and beef rising 3.8% and 5.9%, respectively. Gasoline prices rose 27.4% from a year earlier, according to the August BLS data; as of Sept. 22, regular gas averaged $4.47 a gallon nationwide, according to AAA, and diesel reached a record $6.53 a gallon.

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