Stocks closed lower on Thursday as the brief relief from the Treasury Department's bond buyback announcement evaporated, with yields rebounding and oil prices surging on Middle East tensions. The S&P 500 slipped 0.87%, the Nasdaq fell 1%, and the Dow dropped 1.32%, weighed down by a 9% plunge in Walmart shares. Bitcoin bucked the trend, rallying to $72k on crypto-friendly sentiment.
→ Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech next week—investors hunting for clues on whether hawkish Fed meeting minutes translate into policy guidance and whether aggressive rate-hold messaging continues.
→ Earnings resilience amid yield pressure: Target and other retail reports due after hours as consumer spending remains under pressure from elevated borrowing costs and gas prices.
→ Crypto follow-through: Bitcoin's $70k test may determine whether momentum sustains or consolidates; equity-crypto correlation remains fragile given policy divergence between Treasury buybacks and Fed tightening bias.