US Stocks fall as oil, bond yields rise

Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday, pulled down by Alphabet and Amazon, as US Treasury yields climbed and Iran's president said Tehran would never surrender to US pressure. Oil prices rose almost 4 percent and the S&P 500 energy sector index rallied after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's speech at the UN, a day after US President Donald Trump warned he could "annihilate" Iran. A survey showed US business activity raced to a more than five-year high in September, pushing government bond yields higher and raising expectations the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates at its October meeting. Yields on 2-year Treasuries touched their highest since 2024, while 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest since 2007. "The stock market wants a resolution to the (Middle East) conflict, and if we don't get that, we will have higher rates for longer, and that's going to continue to weigh on the equity market," said Lauren Cassidy, chief investment officer at Founders 100 ETF in Dallas. Meta Platforms rose 1 percent, bringing its gain this week to 12 percent following a strong reception of its "Muse" AI assistant, which analysts say could benefit tech infrastructure stocks, while challenging banks, online shopping platforms and other consumer businesses. Google parent Alphabet fell...