Oil up/Wall Street down: Hump day starts on a soft note
SPY•Stocks lower as oil and yields rise
Major U.S. stock indexes were red, with the Nasdaq off the most, down about 1%.
Utilities was the weakest S&P 500 sector, while energy led the gainers. The Euro STOXX 600 index was down about 0.4%.
The dollar rallied, U.S. crude gained more than 1.5%, bitcoin fell, and gold was down more than 1.5%.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose to around 5.05%, hitting a fresh multi-decade high.
Oil strength, Fed speakers and economic data weigh on sentiment
U.S. stocks and crude's seesaw tipped on Wednesday as rising oil prices sent stocks lower and Treasury yields higher.
All three major U.S. equity indexes were lower, with small caps suffering a steeper percentage drop than their larger-cap counterparts in the early going.
On the sector level, energy and software & services were clear outperformers, while chips were on track to snap a six-day winning streak.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was expected to arrive in Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for a three-day summit that promised to be high-stakes and tension-filled as the leaders of the world's two largest economies hash out trade, AI and Iran-related issues.
The U.S. and Iran engaged in their first talks in months, reigniting hope for progress toward ending the Iran war, which has sent crude prices soaring and rattled global markets since the opening salvo on February 28.
Front-month WTI and Brent crude prices were both more than 1.5% higher, keeping broader inflationary jitters alive as markets grow accustomed to the new global central bank policy tightening phase.
Tuesday's Fed speakers included Board Governor Michael Barr this morning at the Chicago Fed, while the Chicago Fed's president, Austan Goolsbee, was expected to appear on the "Economics, Applied" podcast later in the session. Their comments were to be pored over for any clues regarding the speed, extent and duration of interest rate hikes markets can expect.
