Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq drop as oil tops $95, bond yields rise

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq drop as oil tops $95, bond yields rise Grace O'Donnell , Jake Conley and Ines Ferré Updated Tue, September 1, 2026 at 10:04 PM GMT+2 2 min read CL=F ^DJI ^GSPC ^IXIC US stocks lost steam on Tuesday as a fresh round of US airstrikes on Iran sent oil prices higher, while a bond market sell-off and speculation about the Fed's next interest rate move kept buyers on the sidelines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) slid nearly 0. 8%, while the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) also lost roughly 0.

7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) was down more than 1% after stocks closed August with solid gains. Stocks entered September with double-digit year-to-date returns and earnings expectations that continue to rise .

However, volatile oil prices and the potential return of Fed rate hikes have given investors reason to worry heading into the historically weakest month for stocks. Crude oil prices ( CL=F ) accelerated gains in afternoon trading after the US Central Command said it launched new attacks against Iranian targets , signaling a reescalation in the hot war in the Middle East. The barrage came after two oil tankers were struck while attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz, sending Brent futures ( BZ=F ), the global benchmark, trading above $95 per barrel.

US bond yields continued their march higher on Tuesday, with the 10-year yield ( ^TNX ) rising to 4. 79%, its highest intraday level since January 2025. The 30-year ( ^TYX ) climbed to 5.

27%, hovering near multi-decade highs. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed job openings ticked up slightly in July, a somewhat stable read on hiring ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report. Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed that US manufacturing activity expanded for the eighth month in a row, though the sector's rate of expansion slowed just slightly.

The gush of second quarter earnings reports may have slowed to a trickle, but releases from Dell ( DELL ) and Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) will give insight into how big corporations are spending money on tech and cloud services. LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 17 updates Tue, September 1, 2026 at 8:00 PM UTC Ines Ferré Stocks slip as bond yields rise, oil touches $95 Stocks kicked off the new month in the red as oil prices jumped and bonds sold off, pushing yields higher and the dollar higher. The 10-year Treasury yield ( ^TNX ) touched its highest level since January 2025 while gold ( GC=F ) and bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) fell by 0. 8%. The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) also dropped by about 0.

7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) fell more than 1%. Brent crude ( BZ=F ) prices topped $95 per barrel as fighting between the US and Iran escalated.

Tue, September 1, 2026 at 7:10 PM UTC David Hollerith BofA, Goldman, Citi and 18 other major financial institutions unveil stablecoin ambitions Bank of America ( BAC ), Goldman Sachs ( GS ), Citigroup ( C ), and 18 other global financial institutions are moving ahead with plans to jointly issue a stablecoin. It's a sign of the times: Big banks and other major financial services players are ready to compete in the world of crypto payments. A number of crypto firms have also pursued bank charters.

Meanwhile, US banks and the crypto industry are currently at loggerheads over whether stablecoin issuers should be permitted to issue yield to customers. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose prices are pegged to other assets. Last year, President Trump signed legislation setting a regulatory framework in the US and paving the way for Wall Street to dabble more with this kind of crypto asset.

This group of 21 firms said Tuesday that they will jointly establish a new, yet-to-be-named company before the end of this year that will launch a US dollar-backed stablecoin sometime in the first half of 2027. The group, which had 10 members when it was established in October of last year, said it expects the product to have usage across wholesale, institutional, and retail markets. Six of the institutions in this group are also pursuing tokenized deposits by launching a blockchain network to clear and settle deposits between banks.

That initiative, which shared its plans in June, is being run by The Clearing House, a company jointly owned by 25 of the nation's largest banks. The stablecoin market holds $303 billion of circulating value, according to DeFi llama. Its two biggest players are Tether and Circle ( CRCL ).

Tue, September 1, 2026 at 6:52 PM UTC Bitcoin tumbles 3% as bond yields rise, investors go risk off Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) dropped more than 3% on Tuesday, trading near $76,500 per token as stocks fell and bond yields rose. Worries over sticky inflation, fueled in part by rising oil prices, have pushed long-term bond yields higher. Investors are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may have to keep interest rates higher for longer, or even raise them to fight inflation.

Bitcoin, which temporarily rallied above $80,000 last week, has given up much of its recent gains over concerns of tighter monetary policy and a strengthening dollar. Tue, September 1, 2026 at 6:14 PM UTC Jake Conley US military launches new round of airstrikes on Iran, sending oil prices higher A new round of US airstrikes on Iran sent oil prices jumping once more in mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday, as investors evaluated a potential return to a more conflict-heavy situation in the Persian Gulf. Futures on Brent crude ( BZ=F ), the international benchmark, traded up by more than 4% to cross above $94 per barrel, while those on US benchmark WTI crude ( CL=F ) rose 4.

5% to brush up against $90. The US military on Tuesday launched a renewed round of airstrikes on Iran, striking several sites within the country tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, US Central Command said Tuesday afternoon . Strikes were heard in the regions around the cities of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar, per regional media and other local reports.

President Trump said the US strikes were taken in retaliation for attempts by the IRGC to place mines in the Strait of Hormuz — which the US has spent weeks attempting to de-mine to allow for the safe passage of vessels through the waterway — and for attempted Iranian strikes on sites inside Jordan. "If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran! " Trump said on Tuesday .

The state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency said Iran's response would be "more severe" than the US strikes, and that such a response would target US military bases and economic interests in the region, per The resumption of kinetic action between the US and Iran comes as investors turn toward the Federal Reserve's September meeting after Fed chair Kevin Warsh cited inflation as the Fed's primary target. Any flare-up in conflict would threaten to put more upward pressure on inflation through rising energy prices. Tue, September 1, 2026 at 5:52 PM UTC Jake Conley Deutsche Bank sees a rate hike as the most likely outcome of the September Fed Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole and a hawkish shift in Fedspeak over the past week have been enough to convince Deutsche Bank economists that a rate hike is the "most likely policy outcome" of the Fed's September meeting, the economists wrote on Tuesday.

In a note to clients, economists led by Amy Yang cited several tells from the past week indicating a hike is coming in September, the first of which was Kevin Warsh's "surprisingly forceful, hawkish speech that went beyond correcting a few misconceptions from the July post-FOMC press conference. " Also this week, Boston Fed president Susan Collins sounded "more hawkish" in public commentary and articulating a lower bar for hikes than she previously had, "a notable shift from the June FOMC meeting, when she penciled in keeping rates unchanged through the end of the year," the Deutsche economists wrote. At the same time, Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid and Cleveland Fed president Beth Hammack both doubled down on their respective hawkish stances, as Schmid said he likely would have supported a hike in July and Hammack reiterated her calls for immediate tightening.

"As Warsh indicated, while 'a good majority' of officials in July preferred to await new information during the intermeeting period, they stood ready to act should circumstances require," the Deutsche Bank economists wrote. "Ultimately, we believe the specificity of Warsh's comments, combined with the hawkish shift from a centrist like Collins, has changed the setup for September. As long as incoming data do not surprise significantly to the downside, in our view Fed communications over the past week have established a rate hike as the most likely policy outcome next month.

" Tue, September 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell Why the stock market can no longer ignore bond volatility Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi reports: A worldwide government bond sell-off intensified today with a ferocity that should alarm every investor, big and small. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note ( ^TNX ) — the single most important interest rate in the world, the rate that sets the price of everything from a mortgage to a car loan to a credit card — just hit its highest level since January 2025. The 30-year yield ( ^TYX ) is hovering around a two-decade high, which does nothing to help those planning for their long-term financial security.

And here is what makes this moment especially concerning: Bond yield creep is happening globally. Japan's 10-year bond yield just climbed above 3% for the first time since 1996. British 10-year yields just hit their highest level since mid-2007.

German 10-year bonds are at levels last seen in 2011 during the peak of the European debt crisis. The major US stock averages all fell in response in early trading. "The stock market has been able to ignore these moves so far this year.

However, as we have seen in the past, higher yields don't matter for stocks … until they do," Miller Tabak strategist Matt Maley wrote in a note. Read more. Tue, September 1, 2026 at 4:19 PM UTC David Hollerith TD Cowen: Big banks expected to enter M&A 'sweet spot' after the midterms TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg has an unusually clear message for the banking industry and deal watchers this week.

Following the US midterm elections in early November, it could be game on for banking mergers and acquisitions. In fact, it may be the best window for the industry's biggest deals. Seiberg said he expects bank M&A discussions to "heat up" in the coming months, including for big bank acquisitions of regional lenders.

However, he argued that politically savvy dealmakers aren't likely to move before midterm elections, given the possibility that Republican and Democratic politicians could become more critical of Wall Street on the campaign trail. Instead, Seiberg is underlining the post-midterm period from November through the end of March 2027 as the "sweet spot. " There's no rule that outright disqualifies mergers forming a US bank with over a trillion dollars in assets, but because such deals could take at least a year to earn regulatory approval, acting early gives the industry time to close before campaigning ahead of the 2028 elections kicks off, Seiberg argued.

The country's two largest banks, JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) and Bank of America ( BAC ), are both barred from acquiring another US bank, given their share of US deposits. That leaves the field open for Wells Fargo ( WFC ), Citigroup ( C ), and a number of large regional banks if lenders now see this as the moment to go after greater scale. Tue, September 1, 2026 at 3:54 PM UTC Jake Conley Oil prices rise as supertankers struck in Strait of Hormuz Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday after news early in the morning that two oil supertankers had been struck inside the Strait of Hormuz, sending renewed jitters through the market of a renewed flare-up in the Middle East conflict.

Futures on Brent crude ( BZ=F ), the international benchmark, rose by roughly 2. 5% to cross $92. 50, a roughly weeklong high.

Those on US benchmark WTI crude ( CL=F ) picked up a strong 2. 8% to trade above $88, once again beginning the climb toward $90. Two oil supertankers — one each owned by Saudi Arabian and South Korean shipping companies — attempting to exit the strait through Tuesday morning were struck by projectiles, a maritime risk consultancy said Tuesday.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they come after a flare-up over the weekend of US-Iran hostilities, which saw US airstrikes on Iranian rocket launchers answered by attempted strikes inside Jordan and the UAE. The conflict over the weekend — the first proper return to kinetic action in roughly a month — has renewed worries over the state of the global energy complex, even as oil output from the Persian Gulf has returned to roughly two-thirds of pre-war levels, per Goldman Sachs. Much of that oil is being exported from the region via pipelines to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman.

Speaking on Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Strait of Hormuz would soon be "worthless" on account of current pipeline capacity and plans for future development of increased pipeline routes around the waterway, which, before the war, was responsible for roughly a fifth of the global oil trade. "That will be bypassed in two years," Bessent said in a fireside chat at the G20 finance chiefs meeting in Asheville, N. C.

"In two years, the Strait of Hormuz will be like a worthless piece of water. " Tue, September 1, 2026 at 2:53 PM UTC Jake Conley Hiring and layoff data shows little change for labor market in July ahead of Friday's August jobs report Job openings and hirings remained roughly flat in July, per Labor Department data out Tuesday, reinforcing what economists have called a "low hire, low fire" job market. 7.

3 million positions were open in July, compared to June's revised count of 7. 2 million, per the Labor Department's JOLTS report. Hirings, meanwhile, moderated to 5.

1 million in July from June's 5. 3 million workers hired into new roles. In a slightly positive sign for workers, the layoffs rate fell to 1% from the previous month's 1.

1%, a small decline that reinforces the "low fire" aspect of "low hire, low fire. " The quits rate was 1. 9%, compared to June's 2% rate.

All of this data comes as a preview to Friday's nonfarm payrolls report. Economists are looking for 55,000 jobs added to the economy in August, per Bloomberg consensus estimates, as the labor market looks for a turnaround from a loss of 23,000 jobs in July. Read more.

Tue, September 1, 2026 at 2:28 PM UTC Jake Conley Bank of America raises Microsoft price target to $600 from $500, citing growth outlook Bank of America on Tuesday raised its price target on Microsoft ( MSFT ) to $600 from $500 as analysts take a positive view on "accelerating cloud growth, improving AI efficiency and greater return visibility. " With the stock trading at $503 Tuesday morning, the bank's new price target would represent an appreciation of rougly 19% for Microsoft shares. Coming off strong earnings for the Magnificent Seven stalwart, BofA analysts led by Tal Liani cited strength throughout the company's AI strategy, with a focus on two fronts.

The first of those is Microsoft's decision to construct a wide portfolio of AI models, allowing users to allocate work to different models depending on the task. The second is Microsoft's infrastructure engineering push for integration throughout chips, models, and apps to improve return on investment, efficiencies that could "lower the cost of serving AI workloads, support margins and improve ROIC over time. " The company's recent earnings report showed strong signs that Microsoft's bets are paying off, the analysts said.

Liani and his team cited Azure growth accelerating to 43% in the fourth quarter of 2026 from 39% in the third quarter; paid Microsoft 365 net seat additions doubling quarter-on-quarter; and remaining performance obligations (RPOs) increasing 84% year to date. Tue, September 1, 2026 at 1:41 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell Rising bond yields, oil prices put pressure on stocks Stocks kicked off a new month of trading in the red as a bond sell-off and a jump in oil prices weighed on sentiment. The 10-year Treasury yield ( ^TNX ) is currently at its highest level in over a year and a half.

Gold ( GC=F ) and bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) declined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) fell by 0. 5%.

The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) declined by about 0. 7%. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) dropped by 1.

4%. Here's a look at the sector action in the first few minutes of trading as the tech sector ( XLK ) and consumer discretionary stocks ( XLY ) were under pressure. AlphaSpace heatmap Tue, September 1, 2026 at 1:10 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell Shein gets a cool response to its Hong Kong IPO Shein ( 0625.

HK ) stock hit the public markets in Hong Kong on Tuesday, and the response was tepid. Shares of the fast-fashion brand plunged over 9% from their IPO price of HK$48. 56 per share ($6.

19) in the first minutes of trading. Shares recovered throughout the trading day but still closed slightly below the IPO price. At close, Shein's market capitalization stood at $26.

5 billion, a fraction of its private market valuation of $100 billion in 2022. The company had previously tried to list in New York and London to no avail. The removal of the de minimis tariff exemption — a loophole that allowed small packages to be shipped to the US tariff-free — has caused a headache for the Chinese e-commerce site, and competition from TikTok shop, Temu, and others has created headwinds for the company.

Tue, September 1, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC Jared Blikre Software stocks crushed chips in August. History says September gets tougher. Software just posted its second-best month since 2002.

Meanwhile, chip stocks barely held on to a gain in August after being up nearly 10% mid-month. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ( IGV ) surged over 16% in August, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) finished up only 1%. The S&P 500 gained just over 2.

5%. For a while, chips were keeping pace. But in the final two weeks of the month, SOXX gave back most of its rally while software kept pushing higher.

And chips weren't alone. The companies supplying the physical guts of the AI boom — electrical equipment, power infrastructure, networking gear, and construction — had all surged into mid-August. Then those trades rolled over together, while software kept climbing.

That extended a record divergence between software and chip stocks that was already opening up earlier in August. Read more. Tue, September 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Why Toyota and Honda would get hit hardest by Trump's Canadian auto tariffs Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian reports: In something of an unexpected consequence, Japanese automakers Toyota ( TM ) and Honda ( HMC ) have more to lose than any US automaker from President Trump's threatened tariffs on Canadian-built vehicles.

In a note to clients, JPMorgan Securities' head of global auto equity research Jose Asumendi noted that Canadian-built vehicles accounted for nearly a quarter of Honda's US sales last year, and 17% of Toyota's. Trump has threatened to impose 50% tariffs — double the current 25% rate — on autos, trucks, and car parts imported from Canada starting Jan. 1, 2027.

The conventional thinking had been that Big Three automakers GM ( GM ), Ford ( F ), and Stellantis ( STLA ) would suffer the biggest financial hit from tariffs on Canadian goods. But the two Japanese carmakers produce more than three-quarters of all cars made in Canada, per Reuters , and new tariffs could force them to shut some of their Canadian assembly lines because production would be economically unfeasible. Read more.

A trailer full of cars leaves Honda's automotive assembly plant in Alliston, Ontario, Canada, April 1, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio · Reuters / REUTERS Tue, September 1, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Stocks brace for 'September Effect' September could be a bumpier month for stocks, if history is any guide. According to Carson Group's Ryan Detrick , September is the weakest month of the year for stocks.

The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) is down 0. 6% on average during the pumpkin spice month and generates a positive return only 45% of the time. Along with February, September is the only other month of the year with a negative return on average.

Volatility also tends to spike , with this year's midterm elections throwing another wrench into things. But these are just trends, and seasonality isn't what's driving markets. While LPL Financial chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist expects more volatility ahead, it could also present some buying opportunities for investors.

"There's a lot of macro variables right now that I think can fuel upside in volatility," Turnquist told Yahoo Finance on Monday, citing geopolitical tensions and rising bets of a Fed rate hike. "The earnings story is great, but we're not in that chapter right now for the market until we get to the next reporting season," Turnquist added, "so I do think the setup here, base case, [is] higher volatility and potentially a buying opportunity if we get some drawdown. " Tue, September 1, 2026 at 9:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Good morning.

Here's what's happening today. Economic data: S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, August final reading (53. 3 expected, 53.

2 previously); ISM manufacturing, August (55. 2 expected, 55. 6 previously); ISM prices paid, August (71.

2 expected, 71. 1 previously); ISM new orders, August (57 expected, 56. 7 previously); ISM employment, August (52.

5 expected, 52. 8 previously); Construction spending, month-on-month, July (0% expected, -0. 1% previously); JOLTS job openings, July (7.

3 million expected, 7. 359 million previously); JOLTS quits rate, July (+2% previously); JOLTS layoffs rate, July (+1. 1% previously); Dallas Fed services activity, August (6.

6 previously); Omdia total vehicle sales, August (16. 3 million expected, 16. 33 million previously) Earnings calendar: Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ), Dell Technologies ( DELL ), Medtronic ( MDT ), MongoDB ( MDB ) Catch up on some top stories from overnight: SEC chairman moves to give US states power over shareholder resolutions Apple says OpenAI is destroying evidence in trade secrets case Trump strikes Medicaid drug price deals with nine pharma firms State Farm sued by Los Angeles County for allegedly mishandling wildfire claims AI could cause global economic downturn, Andrew Bailey warns G20 Tue, September 1, 2026 at 8:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Oil extends gains, stocks drop as Trump issues fresh Iran warning The AFP reports: Oil prices extended gains Tuesday amid fears of a fresh bout of military exchanges between the United States and Iran following a flare-up at the weekend and Donald Trump's warning that he will hit the country "hard".

The latest bout of strikes between the foes has further stoked worries about inflation that has put pressure on central banks to hike interest rates, which has in turn jolted equity markets. After six months of war, the conflict remains at an impasse, with Tehran keeping the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed and Washington continuing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. The United States carried out strikes on an Iranian island in the waterway on Sunday, with Tehran quickly retaliating by attacking US military targets in the Middle East.

The exchange raised fears of a return to major hostilities, with the US president vowing to respond. "We're going to hit them hard," Trump said, according to a Fox News reporter who spoke to him briefly. "There will be a response.

" Read more.