S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq End Lower As Oil Crosses $101, Yields Pop Following Bessent’s Expanded Buyback Plan — AAPL, META, AMZN, CRM In Focus

• The S&P 500 ended Wednesday 0.5% lower, while the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%.
• The U.S. Treasury tripled its buyback operation of longer-dated government debt to $6 billion. 
• Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 lineup and its new foldable phone. 

U.S. stock indices fell on Wednesday as escalating Middle East tensions pushed oil prices higher, while Treasury chief Scott Bessent’s plan to expand sovereign debt buybacks to $6 billion fell short of market expectations. 

The S&P 500 ended Wednesday 0.5% lower, while the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%. The Russell 2000, which tracks stocks with small market capitalizations, rose about 0.5%.

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 0.4%, and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended Wednesday 0.3% lower, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) was down 0.7%.

Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) added 0.1%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose 0.8%, with Micron Tech (MU) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)  aiding gains. The broader Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) ended flat as gains in Meta (META) offset weakness in Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) stock. 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for QQQ and SPY was ‘neutral,’ and ‘bearish’ for DIA, with ‘high’ message volumes. 

US Market Drivers

Equity markets faced downward pressure as energy costs rose. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3.25% to close at $96.05, the highest since May. Brent crude settled up 3.36% at $101.21 a barrel. 

U.S. sovereign yields surged on Wednesday following the Treasury Department’s announcement that it will triple its buyback operation of longer-dated government debt to $6 billion, building upon plans detailed last month to at least double debt repurchases.

However, the aggressive move failed to calm financial markets, triggering a sell-off that pushed long-term yields to their highest levels in years. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes climbed roughly 5 basis points to 4.83%, the highest yield level seen since 2023, showing bond traders reacted with disappointment after pricing in an even broader intervention.

Going ahead, investor attention will turn to key inflation data due on Thursday to gauge the future interest rate path the Federal Reserve will set at its September meeting. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release August producer price index data on Thursday, followed by the consumer price index on Friday.

“A hot CPI print would all but seal a September hike and underpin a firmer dollar,” Elias Haddad at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co told Bloomberg. “A cooler reading would strengthen the case for a hold and leave the dollar vulnerable to a dovish Fed repricing.”

Key Trending Stocks

Salesforce (CRM): CRM stock eased about 2% on Wednesday amid reports that the firm has held talks to acquire artificial intelligence startup Listen Labs in a transaction valued at around $2 billion.

Apple (AAPL): The company introduced its next-generation smartphone lineup, headlined by the new iPhone 18 Pro series and the company's first-ever foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo. 

Meta Platforms (META): Analysts at TD Cowen recognized Meta Muse AI to be a ‘notable’ revenue stream in the future.

Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL): The laptop maker raised $5 billion from an investment-grade bond sale. 

Amazon (AMZN): The company raised £4.25 billion ($5.8 billion) from its debut sterling bond sale.

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