Wall Street is experiencing a mixed trading day, drifting towards the end of an up-and-down week. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 139 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time. Conversely, the Nasdaq composite showed a gain of 0.3%. This mixed performance follows losses in European markets and gains in Asian markets.
The majority of stocks on Wall Street declined, primarily due to increased pressure from the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose to 4.98% from 4.94% on Thursday, having surpassed the 5% level earlier in the week for the first time since 2023. Higher yields tend to slow the economy by increasing borrowing costs for various entities, from the U.S. government to businesses, and also typically depress stock prices.
Oil prices also contributed to market volatility, with Brent crude reaching nearly $110 per barrel early in the week, up from just over $70 in July. It has since seesawed, briefly dropping below $102 in overnight trading before recovering to $104.07, down 0.3% from the previous day. High inflation, exacerbated by increased oil prices from the war with Iran, continues to raise expenses for companies, with steelmaker Nucor projecting increased profit from its mills but a lower-than-expected overall profit forecast due to absorbing higher costs, causing its stock to fall 4.1%. Berkshire Hathaway also slipped 0.1% following Warren Buffett's announcement of stepping down as chairman.
