Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, United States, September 25, 2026.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures edged higher late Tuesday, following another session in which stocks succumbed to pressure from rising bond yields.
Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.16%. S&P 500 Futures Contracts were also up 0.16%. Nasdaq-100 Futures Contracts increased by 0.26%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.4% and the Topix as a whole rose 0.6% on Wednesday. The South Korean reference Kospi as well as the small-cap Kosdaq added more than 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.4%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 Index was up 0.36%.
THE Cash flow over 30 years the bond yield peaked above 5.6% on Tuesday, hitting levels not seen since June 2002. The 10-year yield, meanwhile, hit a new 2007 high near 5.3%. These moves led the Dow Jones to fall more than 100 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
These measures came even as oil prices fell that day.
Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, noted that stocks are “trying to hang on, but tightening financial conditions are encouraging bears and increasing interest in downside covering.”
Certainly, new comments from New York Federal Reserve Chairman John Williams appear to have allayed fears of central bank rate hikes, at least for now. Williams said Tuesday evening that “there is no urgency and we have time to gather more information” before the Fed’s October meeting.
CME Group’s FedWatch tool shows traders expect a 49% chance of a quarter-point rate hike next month. That’s down from 71% on Monday.
Heading into Wednesday, traders will have their sights set on the August reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones see the indicator rising 0.3% for the month, leading to an annual pace of 3.7%.
Wednesday marks the last day of September and the third trimester. Market performance was mixed over the two periods. For the month, the S&P 500 and Dow are trending down while the Nasdaq is up more than 1%. For the quarter, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 2%, while the Dow is down almost 2%.
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