Dow tumbles more than 300 points, Nasdaq drops 1% as Treasury yields surge: Live updates

U.S. equities finished in the red on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 shed 0.75% to 7,706.03, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.13% to 26,936.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved down 352.10 points, or 0.68%, to 51,511.59.

— Sean Conlon

The oil industry has warned a diesel export ban will backfire and exacerbate the global fuel crisis as President Donald Trump weighs restrictions.

Trump appeared to back an export ban earlier this week, as he faces mounting political pressure to tackle rising fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections in November.

“I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel,” Trump told reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly. “I’ve called for it within my people. I’ve been talking about it.”

Read the full story here.

— Spencer Kimball

All but two of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were falling in afternoon trading on Wednesday.

Energy led the way, rising about 1.1%. Industrials was the only other positive group on the day, up only marginally at about 0.2%.

Conversely, utilities was the biggest laggard, dropping 1.7%. Consumer discretionary and communication services weren’t too far behind, notching a loss of 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively.

— Sean Conlon

An October interest rate hike is very much on the table after a top Federal Reserve official Wednesday expressed support for one, and as fresh economic readings showed intensifying inflation pressures.

In remarks prepared for a housing conference in Chicago, Fed Governor Michael Barr said he thinks policymakers still have more work to do even after last week’s quarter percentage point increase.

“In my base case, further policy adjustments are likely to be needed to ensure inflation comes down to target in a timely fashion,” he said. “We want to support sustainable, durable growth in support of maximum employment, and price stability is crucial to that.” Read more.

— Jeff Cox

Check out some of the companies making the biggest moves midday:

• McDonald’s — CEO Chris Kempczinski said at an investor day event he expects high inflation and flat traffic will continue to weigh on the restaurant industry. The burger chain reported U.S. same-store sales growth of just 0.8% in its most recent quarter as traffic to its domestic restaurants fell. McDonald’s shares fell more than 5% to their lowest since 2022.
• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — The restaurant chain climbed 5% after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 99 cents, up from 74 cents last year. Revenue of $849.3 million beat the consensus Wall Street estimate of $834.6 million, according to FactSet data, while restaurant level profit margins, cost of goods sold and adjusted EBITDA margins were all better than expected.
• Worthington Enterprises — The industrial manufacturing company rose 4% on an encouraging outlook from leadership. CEO Joseph Hayek said the company is seeing opportunities across its business, “including rapidly growing demand for our engineered [American Society of Mechanical Engineers] tanks used in liquid cooling systems for data centers.” First-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue surpassed the Street’s estimates, according to LSEG.

Read here for the full list.

— Scott Schnipper

McDonald’s shares fell sharply Wednesday as the company unveiled a new multiyear growth plan alongside a warning from the company that high inflation and flat restaurant traffic are likely to persist.

CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNBC that the company is “not expecting things to change” as elevated costs and sluggish traffic continue to weigh on the industry.

Investors are not loving it: shares of McDonald’s are down more than 5% in midday trading, on pace for their worst day since April 4, 2025 when they fell 5.7% and trading at their lowest levels since October 2022. The move extends a string of weakness: MCD is now on pace for its seventh straight weekly decline, which would mark its longest losing streak since August 2014.

— Nick Wells

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday that activity on “mentions” contracts are “concerning.”

The response comes after the CFTC informed some of its regulated entities on Tuesday that “mentions” contracts, where traders predict what one would say in a speech, televised event or earnings call, are susceptible to manipulation.

“I think a large number of these contracts have issues, and so we’re going to take a hard approach in evaluating those,” he said.

Selig also told CNBC the federal regulator has a zero tolerance policy on wash trading, after growing concerns that Kalshi has wash trading on its perpetual futures trades. The Wall Street Journal reported the CFTC is looking into the trades.

The chairman also touched on Kalshi’s efforts to introduce margin trading to traders. Selig said the CFTC is evaluating the proposal and that it will allow only traders meeting “stringent eligibility criteria” to participate.

— Ananya Chetia

Treasury yields raced higher on Wednesday as new services and manufacturing sector data increased worry of further Federal Reserve rate hikes.

The 2-year Treasury note yield jumped 8 basis points to 4.464%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield popped 7 basis points to 5.058%, a level not seen since July 2007. The 30-year Treasury yield gained more than 4 basis points to 5.347%.

US10Y, 1-day

Read the full story here.

— Fred Imbert

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said Wednesday he expects the central bank will need to raise interest rates further to tame inflation.

“Economic growth is strong and the labor market is solid, but inflation is above our 2 percent target and not clearly trending toward target in a timely way. Moreover, risks to achieving our inflation target have increased, while risks to the labor market have receded,” he said in remarks for a housing conference in Chicago.

“In my base case, further policy adjustments are likely to be needed to ensure inflation comes down to target in a timely fashion,” he added. “We want to support sustainable, durable growth in support of maximum employment, and price stability is crucial to that.”

Barr labeled last week’s quarter percentage point rate hike “important action” for policy that was “out of position” in getting inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target.

The remarks came as S&P Global reported that its flash readings on services and manufacturing hit their highest levels since 2021. Price pressures are also surged, posting their highest readings since October 2022.

— Jeff Cox

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

The S&P 500 lost 0.1% just after the opening bell, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 156 points, or 0.3%.

— Sean Conlon

Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:

• Worthington Enterprises – The industrial manufacturing company surged about 16% on an encouraging outlook from leadership. CEO Joseph Hayek said the company is seeing opportunities across its business, “including rapidly growing demand for our engineered [American Society of Mechanical Engineers] tanks used in liquid cooling systems for data centers.” First-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue surpassed the Street’s estimates, per LSEG.
• KB Home – The homebuilder fell more than 1% after projections for fourth-quarter deliveries came in below expectations. Housing gross margins for the current quarter are expected to range between 16% and 16.6%, while analysts polled by LSEG sought 17.2%.
• IonQ – The quantum computing stock jumped 12% after IonQ said it tested the industry’s first real-time quantum error decoder. The new capability allows for quantum error correction across operations without slowing down execution time, the company said in an announcement.

Read the full list here.

— Davis Giangiulio

Mortgage rates have climbed to a level not seen since 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages rose to 7.12% from 6.97% for conforming loan balances of 832,750 or less, the MBA said.

Mortgage and refinance applications fell, while the share of applications for adjustable-rate mortgages rose. ARMs can carry a fixed rate for up to 10 years but then adjusts based on where the market is at that time.

— Diana Olick and Michelle Fox

Shares of IonQ popped more than 13% after the company said it successfully tested the first real-time quantum error decoder. This allows for error correction in quantum computers across operations without slowing execution time.

“Successfully validating real-time decoding across hundreds of logical qubits and over millions of logical operations is an important milestone. Moreover, the fact that our decoder runs on a single CPU provides a practical path to commercial-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing,” IonQ quantum research lead Nicolas Delfosse said in a statement.

IONQ 5-day chart

AI drone maker Tekever on Wednesday said it had hit a $6.4 billion valuation, as Europe races to rearm amid the Ukraine war and mounting threats from Russia.

The Portuguese-British company, which raised a $580 million round, develops AI-powered autonomous systems including surveillance drones. Tekever says its drones have clocked more than 50,000 operational flight hours in Ukraine since 2022, when Russia’s full-scale invasion began.

University of California Investments and Baillie Gifford led the round, with Merlyn Advisors, Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital and Iberis Capital also contributing.

Tekever said in July that the U.K. Ministry of Defence had selected it to provide surveillance technology under a program worth up to £400 million (around $530 million) over 10 years.

Crude oil futures

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins has warned that there is “an increased likelihood” that inflation will stay “notably” above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Explaining her reasoning for backing the Fed’s quarter-point interest rate hike last week, Collins wrote in a LinkedIn post that a “somewhat more restrictive federal funds rate will help ensure that inflation durably returns to target.”

Read the full story here.

—Mike Sheen

Bitcoin was trading around $86,251.47 early Wednesday morning, after rising as high as $86,349.90 the previous day — its highest level since late January.

It marked a 0.2% intraday decline.

Ether was also down 0.2% Wednesday, trading at just over $2,748.

Ripple bucked the trend, adding 1.7% to trade at $1.61.

—Chloe Taylor

European shares opened in positive territory on Wednesday, building on a winning session the previous day that saw the regional Stoxx 600 rise more than 1%.

At 8:20 a.m. in London (3:20 a.m. ET), the pan-European index was up by 0.2%.

Tech and banking stocks led gains in the region, while utilities stocks — which often rise during periods of risk-off sentiment — led losses in early trading.

—Chloe Taylor

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.90% to 7,080.92, while Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched higher to 8,765.30.

Hong Kong’sHang Seng indexwas down 1.01% in the last hour of trade on Wednesday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 0.60% lower at 4,517.28.

Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday.

— Justina Lee

Yields on U.S. Treasurys fell across the curve early Wednesday, as oil prices extended their decline.

As of 3 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was 2 basis points lower at 4.947%. The 2-year Treasury yield fell 2 basis points to 4.758%, while the 30-year Treasury yield was 2 basis points lower at 5.287%.

One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Yields moved lower in tandem with oil prices, which were on track for their sixth consecutive day of losses on Wednesday.

— Chloe Taylor

Brent crude oil futures fell early Wednesday, extending losses to trade at $98.57 per barrel.

It marked a sixth straight day of declines, putting front-month contracts on track for their longest losing streak since August 2025.

Brent crude oil futures

Shares of South Korean solar companies Hanwha Solutions and OCI Holdings jumped more than 8% on Wednesday, as U.S. restrictions on Chinese solar products came into focus ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.

The two leaders are set to meet in Washington this week, with trade expected to be among the key issues discussed.

Hana Securities said it was highly unlikely that the U.S. would ease restrictions on Chinese solar products as part of the talks, arguing that Washington increasingly views solar as a strategic industry tied to national security.

“If the U.S. were to ease restrictions on Chinese solar products at the U.S.-China summit, it would effectively mean stepping back from efforts to build a domestic supply chain for a strategic national security asset,” analyst Yoon Jae-sung said in a note Wednesday.

— Jenny Lee

Oil fell Wednesday, amid optimism that supply disruptions would ease following U.S.-Iran talks which raised hopes of a diplomatic solution to the conflict in the Middle East.

Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for November delivery dropped 0.75% at $98.51 a barrel. U.S.West Texas Intermediatefuturesfor November fell 1.03% at $89.59 per barrel.

PresidentDonald Trumpsaid Tuesday that U.S. officials had a “very good meeting” with Iran’s delegation and that it lasted about three hours. Earlier in his address to the U.N., Trump said he had a “big decision” over whether to reach a deal with Tehran or “annihilate” the country.

— Justina Lee

Mainland China stocks and Hong Kong shares opened lower, with investors continuing to keep watch for developments relating to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s state visit to the U.S. this week.

Hong Kong’sHang Seng indexdropped 0.68%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was 0.13% lower.

The losses in Hang Seng were led by financials and industrials sectors, down 0.35% and 0.16%, respectively.

— Justina Lee

Asia-Pacific markets traded higher early Wednesday, amid lower oil prices following U.S.-Iran talks which raised hopes of a diplomatic solution to the Mideast conflict.

The Kospi added 1.79% at open, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0..84%.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.34% higher.

Japan’s markets are closed for a holiday.

— Justina Lee

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Wednesday, as signs of easing tensions in the Middle East helped to buoy investor sentiment following Iran-U.S. talks.

Hong KongHang Seng indexfutures were at 25,133, compared with the index’s last close of 25,087.75.

Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 last traded at 8,822, while the index closed at 8,757.80.

Japan’s markets are closed for a holiday.

PresidentDonald Trumpsaid that U.S. officials had a “very good meeting” with Iran’s delegation and that it lasted about three hours. That raised hopes that a diplomatic solution to the Mideast conflict may be on the horizon.

— Justina Lee

At 14.21, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is low considering uncertainty around the Iran war and a new interest rate hiking cycle from the Federal Reserve, Brett Ewing, chief market strategist at First Franklin Financial Services, said Tuesday.

“The VIX is pretty calm considering everything that’s been happening,” he said. “You’ve got a hawkish Fed … You’ve got an energy crisis going on.”

— Tobias Burns

When there’s a strong undertow near the beach, the move is to swim sideways, traveling parallel to the shore to reach a point beyond the narrow rip current’s pull.

The stock market seems to have executed such a cautious, patient maneuver. Months of bend-don’t-break action had kept the S&P 500 within sight of record highs while that undertow pulled at parts of the market most exposed to higher oil prices, rising interest rates and a tiring household sector: consumer cyclicals, industrial shares and, lately, the banks.

Meantime, semiconductor stocks and most of the mega-cap tech platforms were convalescing as AI-overspending fears eroded investor conviction and compressed valuations.

Was Monday’s propulsive rally, concentrated in the AI implementers of Big Tech, a sign that the market is revving to escape its summer-long stasis? Could both the “spenders” (hyperscalers) and the vendors (AI hardware providers) rally together for more than a couple of days?

Read more here.

— Michael Santoli

Several stocks were moving on news developments in extended trading.

Worthington Enterprises – The industrial manufacturing company surged about 16% on an encouraging outlook from leadership. CEO Joe Hayek said the company is seeing opportunities across its business, “including rapidly growing demand for our engineered [American Society of Mechanical Engineers] tanks used in liquid cooling systems for data centers.” First-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue surpassed the Street’s estimates, per LSEG.

KB Home – The homebuilder fell 2% after projections for fourth quarter deliveries came in below expectations. Housing gross margins for the current quarter are expected to range between 16% and 16.6%, while analysts polled by LSEG sought 17.2%.

IonQ – The quantum computing stock jumped 11% after IonQ said it tested the industry’s first real-time quantum error decoder. The new capability allows for quantum error correction across operations without slowing down execution time, the company said in an announcement.

— Darla Mercado

U.S. equity futures were little changed at 6 p.m. in New York.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 15 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures were marginally lower.

— Darla Mercado