U.S. Treasury Yields Rise, But Semiconductor Stocks Lead Gains on Wall Street

On September 18 (local time), the New York Stock Exchange closed mixed. Rising U.S. Treasury yields weighed on the market, but ongoing optimism about artificial intelligence (AI) investments boosted technology stocks, especially semiconductor stocks.

On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,682.64, down 95.40 points (0.18%) from the previous session. In contrast, the S&P 500 index rose by 12.74 points (0.17%) to close at 7,650.50, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished 104.25 points higher (0.39%) at 26,522.55.

View of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

International oil prices fell for a third consecutive day, somewhat easing inflation concerns. However, rising U.S. Treasury yields continued to dampen investor sentiment.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury once again exceeded 5%, while the 2-year yield rose to 4.741%, the highest level since July 2024. Continued speculation that the Federal Reserve could further raise interest rates put upward pressure on Treasury yields.

In the interest rate futures market, expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise the federal funds rate by an additional 0.25 percentage points at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting are priced in at about 55%.

However, persistent enthusiasm for AI-related investments supported the lower end of the indices, as semiconductor stocks showed strength. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, composed of major U.S. semiconductor stocks, climbed 2.78%.

Nvidia rose 1.34%, while other key semiconductor stocks such as Broadcom (2.97%), AMD (2.70%), and Micron (3.92%) also saw notable gains.

International oil prices declined as concerns about damage to Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline were seen as less severe than initially feared.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures closed at $100.30 per barrel, down $1.61 (1.58%) from the previous session. Brent crude for November delivery also fell $0.95 (0.91%) to $103.87 per barrel at close. Both oil benchmarks have posted declines for three consecutive sessions since September 16.

In the foreign exchange market, the dollar showed marked strength. The dollar index, which measures the value of the U.S. currency against six major counterparts, climbed to 100.4, the highest level in roughly seven weeks. On a weekly basis, it rose about 1.2%.

Notably, the Japanese yen weakened even after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its policy rate to 1.25% that day, as the BOJ failed to offer a clear signal of further rate hikes. The yen-dollar exchange rate rose to as high as 158.05 yen per dollar, marking a two-week high.

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