Daily News
Dow Tumbles Over 300 Points as Treasury Yields Rocket to 19-Year High; Gold Holds Below $4,300; Crude Slips Below $92; U.S.-China Trade Truce Extended
24 September 2026
Today in Brief
In Asia-Pacific, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1% following three consecutive days of holiday, while the Topix dropped 0.09%; Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.76% lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.52%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 1.29%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield surged to 5.135% for its highest level since July 2007, and the 2-year note climbed to 4.947%, its highest since May 2024. U.S. equities fell Wednesday as Treasury yields marched higher — the S&P 500 dropped 0.75% to 7,706.03, the Nasdaq shed 1.13% to 26,936.04, and the Dow fell 352.10 points to 51,511.59 — pressured by concerns over further Fed rate hikes. Gold held below $4,300 an ounce on Thursday after falling sharply in the previous session, while crude oil slipped below $92 per barrel amid heightened uncertainty over US-Iran negotiations. Separately, the U.S. and China extended their trade truce for two months to Jan. 10 as Chinese President Xi Jinping began a state visit to Washington.
In other news: the 10-year Treasury yield posted its biggest one-day move in nearly 18 months, driven by strong U.S. economic data, hawkish Fed commentary, weak demand at a five-year note auction, and rising oil prices; Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian used a defiant UN speech to blame the U.S. and Israel for global instability; the ECB’s chief economist said he is not seeing significant wage pressure from this year’s inflation surge; SoftBank shares jumped over 7% after an $11.1 billion bond issuance to help fund its $30 billion investment in OpenAI; Meta unveiled a new AI gadget called Charm at its Meta Connect event; McDonald’s shares fell as much as 6.5% after warning that inflation would keep customer traffic flat, despite unveiling an $8.5 billion franchisee support plan; and Microsoft said it plans to invest more than $10 billion across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait by 2030.
In Asia-Pacific, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1% following three consecutive days of holiday
In Asia-Pacific, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1% following three consecutive days of holiday, while the Topix dropped 0.09%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.76% lower. South Korea’s markets are closed for a holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.52%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 1.29%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield, which is tied to rates on mortgages, surged to 5.135% for its highest level since July 2007. The yield on the 2-year note climbed to 4.947% for its highest since May 2024.
Dow tumbles more than 300 points, Nasdaq drops 1% as Treasury yields surge
U.S. equities fell on Wednesday as Treasury yields marched higher amid concerns among investors that more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve may be coming down the pike. The S&P 500 dropped 0.75% to end at 7,706.03, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.13% to close at 26,936.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 352.10 points, or 0.68%, and settled at 51,511.59. Declines in utilities and consumer discretionary stocks led the broader market’s fall, shedding more than 1% each. Equities were weighed down by an increase in Treasury yields, which jumped after the latest purchasing managers’ index readings came in hot.
Gold held below $4,300 an ounce on Thursday after falling sharply in the previous session
Gold held below $4,300 an ounce on Thursday after falling sharply in the previous session, pressured by a stronger dollar and surging Treasury yields. Those moves came as stronger-than-expected US private-sector data heightened inflation concerns and strengthened expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes. Several Fed officials have also reiterated support for last week’s rate increase while warning about persistent inflation risks. Markets are now pricing in around a 70% chance of another Fed rate hike in October, up from 55% a day earlier. At the same time, oil prices rebounded as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian maintained a firm stance, saying Tehran would not allow freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz while sanctions and a US blockade remain in place.
Crude oil slipped below $92 per barrel on Thursday, paring gains from the previous session amid heightened uncertainty surrounding US-Iran negotiations
Crude oil slipped below $92 per barrel on Thursday, paring gains from the previous session amid heightened uncertainty surrounding US-Iran negotiations. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly that Tehran would not bow to threats, adding that the Islamic Republic won’t give up the right to develop nuclear technology for economic development. Pezeshkian also said Iran would not allow freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as long as sanctions and a US blockade remain in effect. In the US, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Trump administration was working with refiners on a voluntary reduction in US diesel exports as an alternative to imposing a formal ban on overseas shipments.
U.S.-China trade truce extended for two months, Bessent says, as Xi begins state visit
The U.S. and China have extended a truce to keep tariffs lower for longer and rare earths flowing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday local time. He was speaking on Fox News, as Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Washington, D.C. for a state visit through Friday. Xi and Trump agreed to a one-year trade truce at a meeting in South Korea last October. The deal, which was set to expire in November, will now be extended to Jan. 10, Bessent said. He added that Beijing needs to fulfill more deliverables. Ahead of this week’s summit, many had expected the truce would be extended by six months or longer. The U.S. and China should discuss their differences on trade issues on the basis of mutual benefit, without actively imposing restrictions, said Dong Shaopeng, senior researcher at Renmin University of China. He expected the trade truce could be continually improved and extended.
10-year Treasury yield rockets to 19-year high
Treasury rates spiked on Wednesday to multiyear highs in what was the biggest one-day move for the 10-year Treasury yield in nearly 18 months. There were a number of reasons cited for the sudden move higher: Much stronger-than-expected surveys on U.S. economic activity, especially in the manufacturing sector Hawkish commentary from a top Federal Reserve official A U.S. Treasury auction for five-year notes that was met with poor demand Stubbornly high oil prices with WTI crude rising 2% The 10-year Treasury note yield popped more than 13 basis points to 5.104% and reached a level not seen since July 2007. The move gained steam after the 10-year yield broke through the key 5% level. It marked the benchmark yield’s biggest one-day move since April 7, 2025 — when it surged 16.6 points.
Iran’s president blames U.S., Israel for global instability in defiant UN speech
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a defiant speech to the United Nations on Wednesday blamed the U.S. and Israel for stoking global instability while accusing them of launching illegal attacks on his country’s civilians and infrastructure. The address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York City was a fiery rebuke to President Donald Trump, who told the U.N. a day earlier that he was weighing whether to “annihilate” Iran after nearly seven months at war. It also contradicted Trump’s insistent narrative that Iran desperately seeks a peace deal, and that one is likely to come right after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
ECB not seeing any big wage response to surging inflation
The European Central Bank is not seeing significant wage pressures in response to this year’s energy-driven inflation surge, the bank’s chief economist said on Wednesday, downplaying concerns that rapid price growth was at risk of getting embedded. Inflation shot past 3% last month and some economists see it hitting 4% by the end of the year as fuel and gas prices have shot up in recent weeks on escalating tensions in Iran. “We’re not seeing any big response to the energy shock, and how I reconcile that is (that) people know the cost of living is going up more than they expected,” Philip Lane told a university lecture. “But they’ve also got a lot of firms that say, ‘Look, we’re being outcompeted by China; you do know if you ask for too much, we have the AI robots ready to go’,” he added. The surge in energy prices pushed up market bets for ECB rate hikes and investors now see another three or four moves on top of the ECB’s hikes in June and September.
SoftBank shares jump over 7% after $11.1 billion bond issuance to fund OpenAI bet
Shares of SoftBank Group jumped more than 7% on Thursday, as Japanese markets opened for the first time this week following a three-day holiday and the technology investor announced an $11.1 billion bond issuance to help fund its growing bet on OpenAI. SoftBank said Thursday it issued $10 billion in dollar-denominated senior notes and 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) in euro-denominated notes. The company said proceeds will be used to fund a $10 billion payment for the third and final tranche of its $30 billion follow-on investment in OpenAI, which is expected to close Oct. 1, as well as for general corporate purposes.
Meta launches AI gadget Charm as race for post-smartphone hardware heats up
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday unveiled a small handheld gadget called Meta Charm for using its new Muse AI assistant, taking the company’s hardware efforts beyond its successful smart glasses. The AI device, about the size of an Apple AirPods case, features a roughly 2-inch touchscreen and a built-in 5G connection. Meta said Charm would be ready to ship for the holidays in December, but did not give a price. “We pack the whole Muse experience, including the whole real-time voice and avatar stack, into something that fits on a keychain and is always available to talk to,” Zuckerberg said at Meta’s annual device event, Meta Connect, in Menlo Park, California. Meta’s surprise announcement comes as Silicon Valley searches for a successor to the smartphone, pouring billions into devices designed around AI assistants that can see, hear and respond to the world around them.
McDonald’s expects inflation to keep traffic flat, shares dip after $8.5 billion capex plan
McDonald’s warned on Wednesday that industrywide customer traffic in key markets would likely remain flat as long as inflation remained elevated, sending its shares down as much as 6.5% even as it unveiled an $8.5 billion franchisee support plan and a slate of long-term growth initiatives. The warning reinforced investor concerns that McDonald’s turnaround could take longer than expected, even as it rolls out its “NEXT” strategy to reignite growth after several quarters of slowing sales and intensifying competition from value-focused rivals. “Look at Starbucks, these changes don’t happen overnight,” said Jake Dollarhide, a McDonald’s investor as CEO of Longbow Asset Management, referring to the turnaround effort at Starbucks that took close to a year for investments to translate into boosted sales. Last month, McDonald’s missed estimates for second-quarter US sales growth, citing execution missteps that hindered efforts to win back lower-income consumers who had cut back on dining out.
Microsoft plans $10 billion-plus Gulf investment with focus on resilience
Microsoft is planning to invest more than $10 billion across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait between now and 2030, including in cloud and AI infrastructure, a senior executive said on Wednesday. The US tech giant is making digital resilience a key part of its strategy for the region as the Iran war rumbles on. Microsoft’s investment reflects both its “ongoing build-out of infrastructure and also the expansion of operations in the region,” Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters. Gulf countries are pouring billions into AI as they strive to become global hubs to help diversify their economies away from oil and gas, betting that land abundance and access to cheap energy will lure hyperscalers, including Microsoft.