Wall Street Slides as Markets Question Fed's Moves
Wall Street fell sharply during Wednesday's trading (July 29) as the bond market assessed that the Federal Reserve risked falling behind in controlling inflation. The Dow Jones slumped 1,153.18 points, or 2.19%, to 51,594.14—its worst decline since April 2025.
The S&P 500 dropped 1.52% to 7,316.15, while the Nasdaq Composite weakened 1.74% to 24,442.94. The Nasdaq is now more than 10% below its record high.
Pressure mounted after the Fed held interest rates steady, despite three officials favoring a 25-basis-point hike. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury surged above 4.67%, while the 30-year yield breached 5.2%—its highest level since 2007.
The spike in yields indicates that the bond market remains unconvinced of the Fed's commitment to bringing inflation back to its 2% target. Statements from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh—affirming the central bank's readiness to act—failed to alleviate investor concerns.
Inflation risks intensified after WTI crude oil surged more than 6% to US$84.46 per barrel. The rise followed President Donald Trump's threat to retaliate against Iran for attacks on US forces in the Middle East.
Semiconductor stocks also exacerbated the market downturn. The SOXX ETF fell 5.5%, Micron and KLA slumped around 10%, and AMD dropped 5.5%. Consequently, rising yields, surging oil prices, and concerns regarding AI spending threaten to keep pressure on technology stocks and major US indices. (arl)
Source: Newsmaker.id
