US stocks trade mixed as Treasury yields hit fresh 16-year highs

• US stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors digested higher interest rates and oil prices.
• The 10-Year US Treasury yield surged to 4.64%, representing its highest level since August 2007.
• Crude oil prices surged 4% to $94 a barrel, representing its highest level since August 2022.

US stocks ended Wednesday mixed in a whiplashed trading session as investors digested new highs in interest rates, oil prices, and the US dollar.

Those three macro forces have been driving stock prices in recent weeks, helping drive a sizable September sell-off in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, as investors grow concerned about the negative impact oil prices have on consumer sentiment, a higher dollar has on corporate profits, and higher interest rates have on equity valuations.

The 10-year US Treasury yield hit a cycle high of 4.64%, representing its highest level since August 2007. That makes stocks less attractive as investors now have a true alternative in the form of lower risk fixed income, according to Bank of America.

Meanwhile, US crude oil prices surged about 4% to $94 a barrel, representing its highest level since August 2022, and the US dollar index rose 0.40% to $106.34, representing its highest level since November 2022.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,274.57, up 0.02%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,550.67, down 0.2% (-68.21 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 13,092.85, up 0.22%

Here's what else happened today:

• Elon Musk said the UAW's strike demands, including a 40% salary increase, will drive America's big three automakers into bankruptcy.
• Fed President Neel Kashkari said the Fed would lose its credibility if it settled with 3% inflation rather than getting it back down to 2%. That could mean another round of interest rate hikes.
• Americans are starting to feel worse about the US economy, as the consumer confidence index dives to a four-month low.
• The Nasdaq Composite has dropped 9% since hitting its peak for the year on July 19, as investors worry about sticky inflation and higher interest rates.
• Oil prices could be headed to as high as $150 a barrel unless the US boosts its exploration efforts, a top shale executive warned.
• JPMorgan's top quant guru warned that the current stock market environment "rhymes with 2008" as headwinds continue to mount.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 3.78% to $93.81 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 2.89% to $96.68 a barrel.
• Gold fell 1.31% to $1,894.80 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond jumped eight basis points to 4.62%.
• Bitcoin jumped 0.11% to $26,242.