U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as Treasury yields tumbled their most in more than a year, with investors piling into bonds for safety even as a hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation reading kept the Federal Reserve’s October decision in focus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 556.80 points, or 1.08%, to 52,178.28, while the S&P 500 gained 25.17 points, or 0.33%, to 7,744.11. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 20.16 points, or 0.08%, to 26,713.03, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped 0.102 percentage point to 5.086% — the largest one-day retreat in more than a year, per Dow Jones Market Data cited by the Journal. The 30-year bond yield slipped to 5.427%, also its biggest one-day fall in over a year, and the two-year yield declined to 4.747%.
The bond rally came despite a hot inflation signal: the producer-price index rose 1.3% in September from the prior month, far above economists’ expectations of 0.6% and the largest monthly increase in the gauge in more than four years, the Journal reported. It followed Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected consumer inflation report.
Investors piled into safe havens as AI-linked stocks wobbled: gold futures rose $62.90, or 1.5%, to $4,147.70 a troy ounce, the Journal reported.
What it means for ordinary people
If the bond rally holds, it could take pressure off mortgage and other borrowing rates, which move with Treasury yields. The catch: oil is still climbing. U.S. crude futures rose $2.88, or 3%, to $97.97 a barrel — up 11% over the past six sessions, per the Journal and Investor’s Business Daily — a sign pump prices may stay elevated. And hot wholesale inflation raises the risk that businesses pass higher costs on to shoppers in the months ahead.
ING’s regional head of Americas research Padhraic Garvey cautioned that long-end pressures remain, saying the 10-year yield could head back into the 5.25% to 5.5% range, according to Barron’s.
Fed debate and oil
The dollar retreated from an 18-month high after San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly signaled on Wednesday that there was no need to raise interest rates at the Oct. 27–28 meeting, per dpa-AFX.
Brent crude traded around $104 a barrel after reports that the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow-fleet vessels that have carried oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela, in a bid to ease tanker capacity strain, Reuters reported.
Tech shares remained fragile: the VanEck semiconductor ETF fell 1%, extending its losing streak, while data-center builder CoreWeave rebounded 5.9% from a 17-month low after plunging 15.5% the prior session, Investor’s Business Daily reported.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal; Investor’s Business Daily; Barron’s; Reuters.
