S&P 500 snaps 3-day losing streak as extraordinary Treasury action provides some rate relief

U.S. equities closed Wednesday’s session higher.

The S&P 500 added 0.21% to end at 7,707.98, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.16% to reach 26,331.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 119.65 points, or 0.22%, to close at 53,463.05.

— Sean Conlon

Investors appear confused about the Treasury Department’s debt buyback announcement, according to Ben Emons, investing chief at Fed Watch Advisors.

“The market appears to interpret this as a form of quantitative easing, with some going further by calling it yield curve control,” Emons wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday.

But, “the reality is that Treasury buybacks simply retire older issues and replace them with new ones, which is liquidity housekeeping, not an outright purchase program,” Emons said. “Unlike the Fed, Treasury doesn’t create money supply in the process.”

Still, Emons said that view can explain why the uield curve between the 2-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury yield have flattened following the announcement.

— Alex Harring

Growing fiscal risks, softer economic data and uncertainty over Federal Reserve policy could intensify pressure on the U.S. dollar, despite recent strength, according to currency strategists.

The U.S. Dollar Index — which tracks the performance of the greenback against six major global currencies — registered 98.8 Wednesday.

Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, said higher Treasury yields do not necessarily support the dollar if investors believe the increase reflects fiscal risk, heavier government borrowing or persistent inflation, rather than stronger U.S. growth or tighter Fed policy.

Meanwhile, softer consumption, inflation and employment data have weakened the argument for maintaining bullish dollar positions, according to a Societe Generale note.

U.S. Dollar Index.

JPMorgan downgraded Internet service provider Cogent Communications on Wednesday to undergweight from neutral on concerns about execution and increased leverage.

Analyst Sebastiano Petti called attention to the company’s elevated leverage of 6.75x and negative free cash flow, saying there is “no clear line of sight to the company’s 4.0x target even with continued asset sales.”

— Tobias Burns

President Donald Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the U.S. has a trade deal with Canada as long as the documents are finalized.

“Subject to the finalization of documents, we have a deal with Canada,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I think it’s a very good deal for … both parties.”

Trump announced late Tuesday night that he was delaying his plan for levies on the U.S.’ northern neighbor for three days because a deal was almost finalized. Had the tariffs gone into effect, some Canadian goods including wine and hockey stocks would have been hit with a 50% import tax.

— Alex Harring

Federal Reserve officials suggested that interest rates may need to rise soon unless inflation shows signs of cooling, according to policy meeting minutes released Wednesday.

“Many participants assessed that policy tightening would likely be necessary if inflation did not decline,” stated the summary of the meeting, which was in late July. “Some participants commented that financial conditions might not currently be sufficiently restrictive to facilitate a return of inflation to 2 percent.”

— Alex Harring and Jeff Cox

Prices on cryptocurrencies climbed after the Treasury Department rolled out a plan to increase its buybacks of longer-term debt.

Traders assumed a risk-on posture following the Treasury’s announcement that it would at least double the size of its government debt repurchases, focusing on the 10-year to -30-year part of the market.

Cryptocurrencies rallied, with bitcoin jumping more than 5% to trade above $68,600. Ether last traded 8% higher at $2,072, and solana popped 5% to more than $81.

Bitcoin in the past day

Shares of companies tied to digital assets also surged. Crypto trading platform Coinbase advanced 10%, while mining companies Mara Holdings and Riot Platforms gained 7% and almost 1%, respectively.

— Darla Mercado

Gold prices surged Wednesday after the Treasury Department said it would double the size of liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated government debt, sending yields and the dollar lower.

Gold futures for December delivery rose as high as $4,557.60 per troy ounce, their highest level since June 2, when they reached $4,571.30. Futures were up more than 3%.

Gold futures

Two telecommunications services names are poised to climb on a combination of catalysts, according to JPMorgan.

The investment bank reiterated overweight ratings on Array Digital Infrastructure and Telephone & Data Systems. It set a price target of $45 on Array Digital, which is 28% above the price at which shares last close. It also put a $48 target on Telephone & Data Systems, implying 40% upside from Tuesday’s close.

“We continue to like Array Digital (AD) and Telephone & Data Systems (TDS), based on continued value-unlock at AD, including further spectrum sales and potential wireless partnership monetization, as well as tower price discovery, alongside an accelerating fiber build and improving broadband [key performance indicators] at TDS,” analyst Sebastiano Petti said Wednesday in a note to clients.

He added that the stocks could also gain ground as the timing of Telephone & Data Systems’ offer to buy more shares of Array Digital becomes clearer.

“We anticipate a pickup in potential catalysts, including a spectrum sale and/or other asset monetization, and the resumption of TDS’s buyback,” Petti added.

Shares of Array Digital are down nearly 34% year to date. Telephone & Data Systems has fallen more than 15% over the same period.

— Liz Napolitano

JPMorgan downgraded Klarna to Neutral from Overweight, lowering its price target to $18 from $22.

“After multiple starts and stops since Klarna’s IPO last year, we’re stepping to the sidelines; we struggle to have reasonable visibility into medium-term trends and think it will require multiple quarters of clean execution to establish investor confidence and close the valuation gap to best-in-class peers,” Connor Allen, the bank’s analyst, said in a note.

According to Allen, the cut to the second-half outlook was largely driven by a weaker view of the European macro environment, particularly (though not exclusively) Germany, as consumer discretionary spending slowed.

“Ultimately, we think it will now take longer to rebuild credibility among investors and we have reduced visibility into medium-term trends,” the analyst wrote.

— Deena Zaidi

The three major averages began Wednesday’s session in the green.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 230 points, or 0.4%, just after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 advanced 0.4%, along with the Nasdaq Composite.

— Sean Conlon

The Treasury Department on Wednesday said it will more than double the size of its government debt repurchases, sending yields sharply lower.

With fixed income markets under pressure and yields surging to levels not seen in nearly 20 years, the announcement targets a sensitive part of the Treasury market.

Under the accelerated buyback, Treasury will target the 10- to 20- year and 20- to 30-year portion of the market, which has seen a buyers’ strike since late June. The government will “at least double” the maximum size of its buyback operations, from $2 billion to “at least” $4 billion, according to an announcement from the department.

Yields cratered following the announcement. Read more.

— Jeff Cox

Honeywell Aerospaceis looking very cheap, so it’s a good time to scoop up its shares, according to Morgan Stanley.

The investment bank upgraded the aerospace name to overweight from equal weight. It has a price target of $205 on shares, implying nearly 28% upside from Tuesday’s close.

“Our fundamental concerns have not disappeared: HONA screens toward the lower end of peers on revenue and EBIT growth, margin expansion is limited, [free cash flow] conversion trails peers, and lower next-generation Commercial [original equipment] content could constrain the long-term aftermarket opportunity,” analystKristine Liwag said in a note to clients. “We believe the valuation now more than compensates for these risks. HONA warrants a discount to peers, in our view – but not the ~35% discount reflected today.”

Shares of Honeywell Aerospace have fallen roughly 24% in the past month. The company was spun out from Honeywell in late June, as supply chain issues have stymied its operations.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Liz Napolitano

Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:

• Target— The retailer declined 1.5% despite reporting better-than-expected revenues in itssecond-quarter financial reportand hiking its full-year guidance. Results were boosted by a $752 million boost to net earnings, or $1.65 per share, from tariff refunds.
• Estee Lauder— The beauty care manufacturer and marketer rose more than 7% after it reported earnings and revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter that beat consensus estimates, according to analysts polled by FactSet. The company also reported that it expects earnings of between $3.10 to $3.35 per share in fiscal year 2027, about in-line with FactSet estimates for between $2.95 to $3.42.
• Analog Devices— The semiconductor company rose more than 3% after adjusted earnings and revenue for its fiscal third quarter, along with current quarter guidance, came in above expectations. Its gross margin, on a non-GAAP basis, rose to 72.5% compared to 69.2% a year ago.

Read the full list here.

—Davis Giangiulio

Shares of Moderna jumped 61% in premarket trading after an experimental cancer vaccine from the company and Merck showed positive results in its late-stage trial. Merck’s stock moved 7% higher.

The mRNA-based shot used in combination with Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda met key goals in the trial with more than 1,100 patients with higher-risk or advanced melanoma whose detectable cancer had been completely removed through surgery.

Moderna and Merck plan to present the data at an upcoming meeting, but it is unclear when they play to submit applications for U.S. approval.

MRNA, 1-day

LOW 5-day chart

Read more here.

— Fred Imbert

Target on Wednesday posted quarterly earnings that were boosted by tariff refundsand raised its full-year guidance, as the retailer shows more signs its turnaround is taking hold.

“We’re encouraged by the progress made so far, and we’re also clear-eyed about the important work still ahead,” CEO Michael Fiddelke said on a call with reporters. “Q2 is an important step forward in the plan we laid out earlier this year to open a new chapter of growth for Target. What you saw from us this quarter reflects the level of change we knew would be needed to put our strategy in motion.”

Shares fell slightly in the premarket following the report, however.

Read the full story here.

— Laya Neelakandan

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that OpenAI disclosed second-quarter results that disappointed investors. While revenue expanded by 18% between the first and second quarter, losses grew as well.

The report appeared to weigh on certain tech stocks. Oracle fell nearly 1% in the premarket. Alphabet shares were also lower in early trading along with chipmakers Marvell and Intel.

— Fred Imbert

Treasury yields pulled back slightly on Wednesday from multi-decade highs seen on the previous day, as a sell-off at the long end of the curve eased investor jitters.

The yield on the10-year U.S. Treasurynote — the key benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — was almost 1 basis point lower at 4.696%.

The2-year Treasury noteyield, which more closely tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate policy, fell more than 1 basis point to 4.1602%.

The longer-dated30-year Treasury bondyield was last seen flat at 5.283%, after notching a new 19-year high on Tuesday at over 5.33%.

— Joseph Wilkins

Shares of Spain’sDeoleojumped over 15% on Wednesday morning amid an intensifying takeover battle for the world’s largest olive oil bottler and marketer.

The stock move comes amidreportsthat Spanish agri-food cooperative group Dcoop has offered 470 million euros ($545 million) for Deoleo, taking the lead in a takeover race that includes Italian, French and Australian firms.

The sale is not yet finalized, Spain’s El Economista newspaper reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, but it is said to be in its final phase, with a closing initially expected in September.

SK Hynix will spend at least 50% of free cash flow generated from 2025 to 2027 on shareholder returns, the South Korean chipmaker said on Wednesday.

The group said it would buy back and cancel 40 trillion won ($28.61 billion) worth of treasury shares in the process, while further shareholder returns would be offered through dividends.

Further details will be announced alongside third-quarter earnings, SK Hynix added.

SK Hynix shares were down by around 10% in Korean trading prior to the announcement, which saw losses narrowing to around 3% at time of writing.

SK Hynix shares have been volatile this year.

Japan’sNikkei 225closed 3.16% lower at 65,326.42, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 5.80% to 6,471.17.

Both indexes were weighed by losses in tech stocks. Samsung and SK Hynix, which are Kospi heavyweights, fell 7.82% and 9.75%, respectively. Over in Japan, SoftBank Group declined over 10% and Nintendo was 2.09% lower.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.18% to 9,053.80.

Hong Kong’sHang Seng indexwas marginally lower in the last hour of trade Wednesday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 2.90% lower at 4,588.70.

— Justina Lee

The Stoxx 600 was up 0.1% shortly after 8:00 a.m. in London (3:00 a.m. E.T.), with the continent’s major bourses and regional sectors in mixed territory.

Construction stocks led early gains, adding 0.91%, as basic resources rose 0.66% and chemicals advanced 0.43%.

The French CAC 40 rose 0.17% in early trade, with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 up 0.10%. The German DAX and Italian FTSE MIB were both hovering around the flatline.

U.K. annual consumer price inflation rose to 2.9% in July, up from 2.6% the previous month, following the largest increase in gas prices since October 2022, when Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, official data shows.

The inflation print, which was in line with forecasts, was driven by a 3.4% rise in services costs, compared to a more modest rise of 1.7% in goods prices.

“The largest upward contribution came from housing and household services, particularly gas and electricity,” the U.K’s Office for National Statistics said. “The largest offsetting downward contribution came from transport.”

European markets are expected to start Wednesday’s session marginally lower, with Stoxx 50 futures seen down by around 0.1%.

German DAX futures were 0.13% lower, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was 0.16% down ahead of the market open, as French CAC 40 futures dipped 0.18%.

The Italian FTSE MIB was set to open almost 0.1% in the red.

— Hugh Leask

Oil prices edged higher Wednesday amid conflicting signals from Tehran and Washington over whether the Strait of Hormuz remained open to shipping.

Brent crude futures rose or 0.7% to $91.66 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.86% to $85.67 per barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that no talks were underway with Iran and maintained that the Strait of Hormuz was open, at odds with Tehran’s claim that the key shipping route remained closed.

— Lee Ying Shan

Unitree Robotics surged 629.4% in their trading debut Wednesday in Shanghai.

The Hangzhou-based robot maker, whosebackflippingand dancing machines have drawn global attention, raised about 6.1 billion yuan ($905 million) in its IPO, according to itsprospectus. Shares rose to 1,100 yuan apiece, before paring gains, last up 496% at 898.4 yuan.

The IPO also drew backing from Chinese AI company DeepSeek, which invested about 140.8 million yuan, according to acompany filing.Unitree’s existing investors also include Chinese tech giant Tencent.

— Jenny Lee

Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday that it will invest around 240 billion won ($158 million) to build a heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, production line at its operations site in Gwangju, South Korea.

The investment will target the rapidly growing HVAC market, including the production of advanced cooling solutions for AI data centers. The facility will manufacture products from FläktGroup, which Samsung acquired last year.

Its shares fell over 5% in early trading Wednesday in Seoul amid a broader decline in tech stocks.

— Jenny Lee

Mainland China and Hong Kong shares were lower Wednesday, amid losses across Asian markets as a global bond rout and Mideast worries sentiment.

Hong Kong’sHang Seng indexdeclined 0.43%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 dropped 1.41% .

Investors are also keeping watch on the debut of China’s best-known humanoid maker, Unitree Robotics on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

— Justina Lee

Asian technology stocks fell Wednesday, tracking their U.S. peers, which pulled back due toa drop in global bonds.

In Japan,SoftBank Groupdropped 5.44%, while chip equipment makerTokyo Electron was 3.85% lower.Advantestlost 3.93%, and Japanese memory chipmakerKioxiadeclined 9.13%.

In South Korea, SK Hynix fell 8.66%, while Samsung Electronics slipped 7.08%.Seoul Semiconductor declined 4.33%.

Tech stocks have been seeing heightenedvolatility in recent sessions, with South Korea’s semiconductor-heavy market whipsawing between steep losses and record gains.

— Justina Lee

Asia-Pacific markets opened lower Wednesday, with South Korea’s Kospi leading declines.

The Kospi dropped 5.89% at open, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 3.62% lower, leading to a temporary halt in trading. Kospi heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix was down over 7% and over 5%, respectively.

Japan’sNikkei 225 fell 1.04% while the Topix declined 1.01%.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.50%.

— Justina Lee

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open lower Wednesday, as worries over higher oil prices and a global bond rout dent investor sentiment.

Japan’sNikkei 225was poised to decline, with the Chicago futures contract at 66,075 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 66,060, compared with the index’s previous close of 67,460.73.

Hong KongHang Seng indexfutures were at 25,371, compared with the index’s last close of 25,471.15.

Futures for Australia’sS&P/ASX 200 last traded at 8,976, while the index closed at 9,070.

Tensions in the Middle East remain elevated after PresidentDonald Trump said that the U.S. is not in any talks with Iran and has no plans to start new ones. While Trump continued to reiterate that the theStrait of Hormuz is open and cleared of water mines, worries over oil disruptions continue to persist.

“Efforts to bring an end to the war have not been successful, and reports suggest Iran will now become more aggressive,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

“That raises the risk of further disruption tooilsupplies out of the Middle East,” Coatsworth added.

— Justina Lee

Treasury yields are continuing to climb, and at a particularly bad time as higher rates worsen the impact of the nearly $40 trillion government debt load.

Longer-dated debt has been hit particularly hard by the recent leg up, pushing the 30-year bond yield close to its highest level since the early part of the 21st century. Other maturities also have risen, owing to a number of factors conspiring to raise financing costs.

Fixed income strategists ascribe the run that began in June to a number of variables: intensified concerns over abudget deficitthat appears set to eclipse its 2025 level; inflationin an ominous holding pattern above the Federal Reserve’s 2% targetdespite moderating data over the past two months; and a rash of corporate debt issuance competing with Treasurys for investors’ favor.

Broadly, the move can also be attributed to a rising term premium, or the extra yield investors demand to hold U.S. debt.

Read the full story here.

— Jeff Cox

Check out the companies making headlines after hours:

• Toll Brothers— Shares of the luxury homebuilder dipped 0.3%. Toll Brothers said it sees fourth quarter deliveries ranging from 3,450 to 3,550 versus the StreetAccount consensus estimate of 3,508. The company reported third quarter earnings of $2.97 per share on revenues of $2.65 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $2.93 on revenues of $2.61 billion.
• Keysight Technologies— The electronic test and measurement company rose 2% after posting third quarter results that exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines. Keysight posted earnings of $3.07 per share, excluding items, more than the $2.48 per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue of $1.85 billion beat the $1.75 billion consensus estimate.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

Stock futures opened little changed Tuesday night.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 12 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.02% and 0.09%, respectively.

— Sarah Min