Why it matters
- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each fell 0.2% from Tuesday's records, the Dow lost 0.7% and the small-company Russell 2000 dropped 1.3%.
- The 10-year Treasury yield touched about 5.36% and the 30-year about 5.73%, both the highest since 2002, before easing after a $39 billion 10-year note sale.
- Fed minutes showed most officials expect another rate increase by year end, and Brent crude settled down 0.4% at $100.20 after the IEA sped up oil stock releases.
Session recap: what happened in this region's trading day, with sources.
U.S. stocks pulled back from record highs on Wednesday, Oct. 7, as long-term Treasury yields climbed to their highest levels since 2002. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 7,801.77, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 341.41 points, or 0.7%, according to The Associated Press.
| Index | Wednesday close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,801.77 | −17.16 (−0.2%) |
| Nasdaq Composite | 27,538.69 | −0.2% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 51,179.87 | −341.41 (−0.7%) |
| Russell 2000 | 2,793.20 | −37.09 (−1.3%) |
Source: The Associated Press; closes match Yahoo Finance data.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had both closed at records on Tuesday; our Americas Tuesday recap has that session.
Why did stocks fall on Wednesday?
Rising bond yields revived worries about inflation and government debt, Reuters reported. Stocks cut their losses after oil prices turned lower. Thomas Martin, a senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT in Atlanta, told Reuters that investors had hoped for relief on oil, which would ease pressure on rates.
Housing stocks fell 2.3% and homebuilders 2.9%, Reuters said, as the average 30-year mortgage rate sits near a three-year high. Chip stocks also slipped. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.1%, Yahoo Finance data showed.
Main movers
- Webull sank 19.1% after U.S. lawmakers said the trading platform is "tied in structural ways" to China's government, Yahoo Finance reported. Webull said the report had "significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions."
- Constellation Brands closed up 2.4%, reversing an early drop of about 5%. Its quarterly sales and profit beat estimates, and it kept its full-year outlook, Yahoo Finance reported.
- Levi Strauss fell 5.0% and Applied Digital 6.0% ahead of their quarterly results after the close, Yahoo Finance data showed.
- SpaceX fell after reports that it is seeking $40 billion in financing to buy Nvidia chips, Reuters reported. Nvidia slipped 0.7%.
What happened to Treasury yields?
They hit new highs, then eased. The 10-year yield touched about 5.36% and the 30-year about 5.73%, both the highest since 2002, Yahoo Finance reported. By the close, the 10-year stood at 5.28%, up from 5.27% on Tuesday, and the 30-year at 5.67%, up from 5.64%, according to the Treasury Department. The 2-year yield fell to 4.77% from 4.79%.
The Treasury sold $39 billion of 10-year notes at a high yield of 5.300%. Bids totaled 2.77 times the amount offered, and primary dealers were left with $984 million, TreasuryDirect data show.
What did the Fed minutes say?
Most officials at the Sept. 15–16 meeting expected another rate increase "would likely be appropriate by year end," the minutes showed. The Fed raised its target range a quarter point to 3.75%–4.00% at that meeting. Traders put the chance of another increase this month at under 20%, down from 37.6% a week earlier, Reuters reported, citing CME FedWatch.
Oil, the dollar and gold
Brent crude settled down 38 cents, or 0.4%, at $100.20 a barrel, and U.S. crude fell $1.16, or 1.3%, to $88.28, Reuters reported. The International Energy Agency agreed to speed up releases of emergency oil stocks, with a focus on diesel.
The U.S. dollar index rose about 0.5% to about 102.29 late in the day, gold futures fell about 1.3% to about $4,134 an ounce, and bitcoin dropped about 2.6% to about $83,344, Yahoo Finance data showed.
What's next for markets?
The Treasury sells $22 billion of 30-year bonds Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, according to TreasuryDirect. Fed Governor Christopher Waller speaks on the economic outlook at 4:30 a.m. ET, the Fed's calendar shows, and weekly jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m. Our morning day-ahead preview set up Wednesday's session, and the Europe Wednesday recap covers the overseas selloff. The markets page tracks the latest numbers.
Follow the rest of the trading day on our global market today page, with the latest Asia, Europe and Americas session recaps.
Sources
- The Associated Press, How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday 10/7/2026
- Reuters via Virginia Business, Wall Street ends lower, off record highs, as Treasury yields climb
- Reuters via Yahoo Finance, Oil prices settle down as IEA agrees to accelerate oil stock release
- Yahoo Finance, Stock market today: Dow falls, S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreat from records amid bond market jitters
- Federal Reserve, Minutes of the FOMC, Sept. 15–16, 2026
- Federal Reserve, Calendar: October 2026
- U.S. Treasury, Daily Treasury par yield curve rates
- TreasuryDirect, Auction results
- TreasuryDirect, Upcoming auctions
- U.S. Department of Labor, Unemployment insurance weekly claims
- Yahoo Finance, S&P 500 chart data
- Yahoo Finance, U.S. dollar index chart data
- Yahoo Finance, Gold futures chart data
- Yahoo Finance, Bitcoin chart data