Major indexes slipped back from record levels. After closing at record levels on Tuesday, the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite both fell 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 341 points, or 0.7%.\n\nYields eased as an auction went well.
A sale of ten-year Treasury notes priced at a better level than traders anticipated. The 10-year finished the session at 5.276%, which was slightly higher than Tuesday, but well off Wednesday’s highs above 5.36%. Also helping yields: The Federal Reserve’s minutes from its last rate meeting suggested no urgency to hike in October.\n\nOil prices sloughed off fresh Middle East violence. Brent crude settled down 0.4% at $100.20, despite new Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia.
Instead, the focus was on continuing oil flows out of the region. Caterpillar led the Dow lower. Caterpillar shares slid almost 6%, Deere fell close to 4% and CNH Industrial dropped over 6%. U.S. government agencies disclosed that they were investigating potential anticompetitive conduct in farm-equipment manufacturing and distribution.\n\nSkydance shares fall after the big deal closes. The megadeal combining Paramount and Warner Bros. closed on Tuesday.
But shares of the new company, called Skydance, fell almost 7% on Wednesday. Copper is one of the hottest metals this year, up 17% so far and near record highs. While there are several compelling reasons to own the metal, the commodity needs to be handled with some caution.
Source: Wall Street Journal Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing