US Equities Retreat As Bond Market Calm Proves Fleeting
US equities retreated as bond market calm proved fleeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed just under 52,800, down 687 points and 1.29%, ending within about a dozen points of the session low and slipping below 53,000 for the first time this month. Long-end Treasury yields reversed the prior day’s rally: the 10-year finished around 4.70% and the 30-year near 5.25%, after the latter touched its highest level in almost two decades earlier in the week. Repurchase operations could run past $4bn per issue, while federal debt crossed $40tn on Wednesday, four months after clearing $39tn.
Consumer Sector Weakness And Market Indicators
Consumer-linked weakness fed through to index performance. Walmart fell more than 9%, its sharpest one-day drop in over four years, after comparable US store sales rose 2.6% versus a 3.8% consensus; average ticket growth slowed to 1.1% from 3.1% a year earlier and operating income included a 750 basis-point benefit from tariff refunds. Crude traded above $87.00, the highest in close to a month, and the Dow’s 1.29% decline compared with about 0.85% for the S&P 500 and 1% for the Nasdaq Composite. Attention turns to August flash S&P Global PMI data on Friday at 13:45 GMT, with manufacturing seen at 53.8 versus 53.9 prior, services at 54 versus 54.6, and the composite previously 54.5, ahead of Jackson Hole on August 27-29.
