NEW YORK — U.S. Treasury yields rebounded after the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, while semiconductor shares rallied again on expectations of sustained artificial intelligence demand.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,682.64 on the 18th, down 95.40 points, or 0.18%, from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 12.74 points, or 0.17%, to 7,650.50, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 104.25 points, or 0.39%, to 26,522.55.
Among the largest companies by market capitalization, Nvidia rose 1.34%, Amazon 1.00%, Google parent Alphabet 0.64%, TSMC 1.03%, Broadcom 2.97%, SK hynix 2.46%, Micron 3.92% and SanDisk 10.99%. Apple fell 0.26%, Microsoft 0.80%, SpaceX 1.36%, Facebook parent Meta 2.43% and Tesla 0.53%.
Stocks were mixed from the opening bell with no major catalysts to set direction. Treasury yields, which had fallen after the Fed's September policy meeting, turned higher again and weighed on equities. The 10-year yield climbed back above the 5% mark to 5.002%. The two-year yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy, rose 0.0662 percentage points to 4.7560%, while the 30-year yield, a benchmark for U.S. mortgages, gained 0.0346 percentage points to 5.3310%.
Crude prices, by contrast, fell for a third day on expectations that disruptions to Saudi Arabian oil supply will not drag on, easing some inflation concerns. Brent crude for November delivery settled at $103.87 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London, down 95 cents, or 0.91%. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery fell $1.61, or 1.58%, to $100.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Both benchmarks have declined for three consecutive sessions since the 16th.
Prices were pressured in particular by reports that Saudi Arabia is moving to restore about half the capacity of its East-West pipeline within days after it was damaged by attacks from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels. Reports that China, at Saudi Arabia's request, asked Iran to rein in Houthi attacks on oil facilities added to the decline.
The drop was limited, however, because traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping route, has yet to improve. Vessel tracking data showed only four commodity carriers passed through the strait the previous day, far below the 16-ship average of the past 10 days.
By sector, semiconductor shares advanced broadly on forecasts that AI demand remains solid. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.78%. Netflix fell 4.67% amid expectations that its content slate for the second half of the year will underperform. Wells Fargo also downgraded the stock to underweight.
