Major stock indices edged lower on Wednesday, weighed down by slightly higher US Treasury yields and oil prices, alongside renewed uncertainties surrounding US-Iran geopolitical tensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.29%, the S&P 500 declined 0.07%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16%.
Among the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants: **Tesla** gained 1.29%, **Microsoft** rose 0.59%, **Meta Platforms** advanced 0.48%, and **Apple** climbed 0.34%. Conversely, **Nvidia** dropped 0.23%, **Google** fell 0.57%, and **Amazon** slid 0.87%.
The rise in US Treasury yields pressured major indices. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed more than 2 basis points to 4.99%, while the 30-year yield advanced to 5.323%. After Brent crude oil futures pushed higher, major index futures reversed from early gains to trade lower. November-delivery Brent futures were recently up 1% at around $100 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures saw modest gains, trading near $90 per barrel.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that US and Iranian officials held a three-hour meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, describing the talks as "very productive." Earlier Tuesday, Trump told the UN that he faces a "big decision": either reach a deal with Tehran or "obliterate" Iran.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%, marking its fourth consecutive session of gains. The tech-heavy index hit an intraday all-time high and also closed at a record level. The S&P 500 closed slightly lower, remaining about 0.7% below its own record high.
Brett Ewing, Chief Market Strategist at First Franklin Financial Services, said he believes the S&P 500 could reach 8,200 points by the end of this year. "At the start of the year, our target was 8,000. Believe it or not, we raised our year-end target to 8,200 in August."
Chris Weston, Head of Research at Pepperstone, added that memory chip stocks have taken over the leadership role, with the semiconductor sector rising for a sixth consecutive session. SoftBank's bond issuance, exceeding $10 billion, has also drawn attention. The deal reportedly attracted over $20 billion in subscription interest, potentially making it one of the largest junk bond deals in history.
Quantum computing company **IonQ** surged 12% after announcing the successful testing of the industry's first real-time quantum error correction decoder. The company stated that this new technology enables quantum error correction throughout the quantum computing process without slowing down execution speed. IonQ's breakthrough lifted the entire quantum computing sector, with **RGTI** and **QBTS** both gaining more than 5.5%, and **INFQ** recording similar gains.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed on Tuesday that the US is studying whether to impose a diesel export ban. According to AAA fuel price data, the national average diesel price has reached $6.53 per gallon. Speaking on the sidelines of the Trump-Zelensky bilateral meeting at the UN, Bessent said: "We are evaluating whether a full or partial diesel export ban is feasible given overall refining capacity."
In Asia-Pacific markets: South Korea's KOSPI index rose 0.9%; Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index edged higher; China's CSI 300 index closed down 0.6%; Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index gave back early gains, with European equities broadly lower on Wednesday as Brent crude climbed again.