US equity benchmarks finished lower on Wednesday as renewed worries over elevated bond yields pressured earnings expectations in credit‑sensitive sectors. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each slipped 0.2% from recent highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 341 points. Crude oil prices gave back earlier gains, and long‑dated Treasury yields eased after a strong 10‑year note auction. Nonetheless, financial conditions remained tight, and FOMC minutes showed policymakers broadly agree that interest rates must stay higher for longer to bring inflation under control.
Shares of AI chipmakers and major cloud “hyperscalers” were mostly weaker as rising yields and wider credit spreads increasingly weighed on demand. Nvidia fell 0.7%, AMD lost 0.5%, Meta slid 2.4%, and Oracle declined 0.8%. This pullback came despite supportive sector headlines, including news that SpaceX plans to borrow $40 billion to purchase Nvidia chips. SpaceX shares dropped 2.5%, while Tesla slipped 0.7%. In contrast, pharmaceutical and consumer staples names advanced, benefiting from a rotation into more defensive sectors.
