NEW YORK — U.S. stocks closed barely higher on the 1st as late bargain hunting offset a sharp selloff in global government bonds that drove yields to multiyear highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20.51 points, or 0.04%, to 50,926.56. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 14.91 points, or 0.19%, to 7,666.45, while the Nasdaq Composite added 10.53 points, or 0.04%, to 26,871.60.
Among the largest companies by market value, Nvidia rose 1.09%, TSMC gained 0.66% and Meta, the parent of Facebook, added 0.10%. Apple fell 0.81%, Microsoft slipped 0.02%, Amazon dropped 0.37%, Alphabet, Google's parent, lost 1.70%, SpaceX declined 1.85%, Broadcom fell 2.15% and Tesla slipped 0.20%.
Micron Technology, which reported fiscal fourth-quarter results for June through August after the close on the previous session, jumped 3.03%. The gain lifted other memory chipmakers, with SK hynix up 5.08% and SanDisk up 2.75%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.59%.
Micron said fourth-quarter revenue reached $54.23 billion, nearly five times the $11.32 billion it posted a year earlier and above the market forecast of $51.07 billion. The company guided for first-quarter revenue of $61.5 billion and earnings per share of $38.15 for September through November, both above consensus estimates of $57 billion and $35.40.
Stocks were weaker early in the session as the global bond selloff deepened. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, the benchmark for global debt markets, rose as high as 5.345% during the session, setting a fresh high since 2002 for a second straight day. The 30-year yield, which guides mortgage rates, climbed to 5.694%, approaching 5.7% for the first time since November 2001.
The selloff extended beyond U.S. debt. Britain's 30-year gilt yield rose as high as 6.029%, the highest since 1998, while the French 10-year yield reached 4.963%, its highest level since 2002.
Treasury yields retreated late in the session as bargain hunters stepped in, pulling stocks out of negative territory. The Treasury Department said it received $46.39 billion in offers in a buyback of notes and bonds maturing in 10 to 20 years and purchased $6 billion of them.
The surge in yields pushed the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage in the United States to 7.28% this week from 7.03% a week earlier, a jump of 0.25 percentage points, according to Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage company. It was the largest weekly increase since October 2022.
U.S. manufacturing activity expanded for a ninth consecutive month but fell short of expectations. The Institute for Supply Management said its September manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 54.5, below the forecast of 55.0. S&P Global's final September manufacturing PMI, released the same day, was 55.9, missing an expected 57.0.
Oil prices surged again after China halted exports of refined petroleum products and the United States moved to send as many as 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East. Brent crude for December delivery settled 4.37% higher at $102.31 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery rose 2.71% to $92.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Reuters, citing four sources, reported that Chinese refiners had suspended exports of refined products to destinations other than Hong Kong and Macau until further notice from authorities. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Defense Department, also referred to as the Department of War, plans to deploy a third carrier strike group and Marine Corps vessels to the Middle East along with an additional 9,000 to 10,000 troops.
