US close: Stocks retreat as long-dated yields climb to 2002 levels
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 29 Sep 2026
(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed lower on Tuesday as Treasury yields continued to head higher.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.26% at 51,349.92, while the S&P 500 shed 0.17% to 7,670.84 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.09% softer at 26,797.54.
The Dow closed 131.59 points lower on Tuesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.
Yields continued to move higher on Tuesday amid ongoing concerns that stubborn inflation could force further tightening from the Federal Reserve. The benchmark 10‑year Treasury note was up half a basis point at 5.249%, while the 30‑year note, which is typically linked to geopolitical developments, was around two basis points higher at 5.571% - a level not seen since June 2002.
However, somewhat offsetting investor worries surrounding yields, international benchmark Brent crude was down 2.58% at $102.56 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was 3.48% lower at $89.38 a barrel.
On the macro front, US home price growth picked up in July, with the S&P Cotality Case‑Shiller national home price index rising 1.9% year‑on‑year, up from 1.6% in June, although values continued to fall in real terms for a 14th straight month as inflation ran at 3.4%. The release highlighted a sharp regional split, with an almost nine‑point gap between the strongest market, Chicago, up 6.9%, and the weakest, Seattle, down 1.6%. New York and Cleveland followed with gains of 5.8% and 4.2%, respectively. S&P DJI also noted ongoing data delays in Detroit, meaning no valid July update was available.
Elsewhere, US consumer confidence weakened in September, according to the Conference Board, with both assessments of current conditions and expectations for the months ahead deteriorating. The headline consumer confidence index fell 6.7 points to 81.9, down from 88.6 in August, while the present situation index, which tracks views on business and labour market conditions, dropped 7.9 points to 109.3, and the expectations index slid 5.9 points to 63.6, marking a third straight monthly decline.
Still on data, US job openings were little changed in August, according to the latest JOLTS report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, holding at 7.1m, with hires and separations also broadly steady. Hires came in at 5.2m, while total separations were unchanged at 5.1m. Within separations, quits held at 3.1m and layoffs and discharges at 1.6m, pointing to continued labour market stability. The job‑openings rate was 4.3%, with little movement across industries.
In the corporate space, chipmaker AMD announced that it was acquiring AI business World Labs for $8.2bn, while Reuters reported that Anthropic's much-anticipated initial public offering prospectus warned that its AI models posed a "catastrophic or existential risk to humanity".
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $423.64 1.86%
Boeing Co. (BA) $187.68 1.78%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $508.96 1.05%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $826.64 0.82%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $149.28 0.40%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $233.98 0.16%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $106.94 0.14%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $363.21 0.01%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $329.40 -3.88%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $115.93 -2.04%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $267.57 -1.61%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $35.84 -1.51%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.98 -1.50%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $27.61 -1.00%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $204.38 -0.96%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $225.31 -0.86%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $374.94 -0.76%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $288.04 -0.64%
S&P 500 - Risers
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $25.11 13.41%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $260.67 7.45%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $512.01 6.04%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $196.53 5.38%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $59.23 4.74%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $158.71 4.70%
Edison International (EIX) $53.56 4.06%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $137.79 3.91%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $112.65 3.64%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $59.24 3.56%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $108.45 -5.06%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $329.40 -3.88%
Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) $2.06 -3.74%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $13.22 -3.57%
Equity Residential (EQR) $63.66 -3.50%
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $140.83 -3.40%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $236.24 -3.37%
Unum Group (UNM) $88.24 -3.16%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $49.87 -3.15%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $512.01 6.04%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $196.53 5.38%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,834.39 4.16%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $189.17 3.17%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $533.44 3.13%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $233.17 3.07%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $266.33 2.95%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $361.62 2.91%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $323.86 2.63%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $272.00 2.32%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $329.40 -3.88%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $352.84 -3.44%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $38.64 -3.05%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $78.23 -2.89%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $184.10 -2.73%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $16.33 -2.65%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $8.98 -2.39%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $227.21 -2.36%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $115.93 -2.04%
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