[New York Stock Exchange] All Major Indexes Rise Following Fed Governor Waller's Rate Comments

10-Year Treasury Yield Drops to Around 4.75%
International Oil Prices Rise, Surpassing $90 per Barrel

As Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller hinted at the possibility of a rate freeze at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, all three major indexes on the New York Stock Exchange rose on September 3, 2026 (local time). Expectations for a rate hike partially receded, pushing down the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note.

As of 9:55 a.m. at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading at 53,488.60, up 426.65 points (0.80%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500, which focuses on large-cap stocks, rose 46.36 points (0.60%) to 7,712.96; the technology-heavy Nasdaq climbed 209.67 points (0.77%) to 26,420.50.

New York Stock Exchange. New York (USA) - Special Correspondent Yoonju Hwang

On this day, the market responded positively to Governor Waller's comments on interest rates, leading to an increase in risk appetite. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which had hit its highest level since November 2023 the previous day, also pulled back to around 4.75%.

Speaking at a Reuters event that day, Governor Waller said, "If the progress toward the Fed's 2% inflation target continues in August data, I would be willing to support keeping the policy rate at its current level."

However, he added that if inflation were to rise sharply again, another rate hike could be considered. The current U.S. federal funds rate stands at 3.50–3.75% per annum. He also noted that the current rate level is "restricting aggregate demand only slightly," and left open the possibility of further tightening if inflation accelerates again.

Following Waller's remarks, market expectations for a rate hike in September fell. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of a rate hike in the federal funds futures market for this month dropped to 54.6% from 63.2% the previous day.

Yields on U.S. Treasury bonds also declined. The 10-year Treasury yield was trading around 4.75% on the day, after surging to as high as 4.818% in the previous session—the highest since November 2023. The two-year yield also climbed as much as 4.41% the prior day, marking the highest since January 2025.

International oil prices, which have been one of the main drivers behind rising bond yields, remain on an upward trend. As military tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated again, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.00% from the previous day to $91.92 per barrel. Brent crude for November delivery on the ICE Futures exchange was up 0.61% to $96.30 per barrel.

Rising oil prices are a major variable for the Fed's future monetary policy. If surging energy costs spread to broader consumer prices, there will be increased pressure on the Fed to raise rates again. Governor Waller noted that, so far, higher energy prices due to the Middle East conflict have not significantly affected the prices of other goods.

By individual stock, cloud data platform provider Snowflake soared 21.2% from the previous day after posting stronger-than-expected results and a robust outlook. In contrast, Broadcom fell 6.28% after providing a sales outlook that fell short of market expectations.

Meanwhile, the U.S. August employment report, to be released on September 4, along with next week's Consumer Price Index (CPI), will serve as key indicators for the Fed's rate decision this month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.