Top U.S. Stories

  • U.S.-China trade truce extended to Jan. 10. As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived for his state visit, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides agreed to extend their tariff truce by two months, from Nov. 10 to Jan. 10. China reportedly wanted two years; Bessent said Washington first wants Beijing to follow through on existing commitments. Why it matters: It removes the risk of a sudden tariff spike this fall, but only pushes the deadline into early January.
  • Pageantry over substance at the White House. Trump rolled out a state dinner and a full military welcome for Xi, but U.S. officials signaled that deliverables will be few, with Taiwan, AI and trade still in dispute.
  • Bond yields stay at multidecade highs. The 10-year Treasury yield held above 5.1%, its highest since 2007, and the 30-year topped 5.4%, the highest since 2004. Why it matters: Long-term yields drive mortgage rates, so borrowing costs for households remain heavy.
  • Report of a U.S.-Iran Hormuz deal. U.S. and Iranian negotiators in New York were reported to be weighing a phased deal in which Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. would lift its blockade. Why it matters: A reopening would be the clearest path to lower oil prices — and cooler inflation.
  • Houthi missiles target Saudi oil hub. Saudi forces said they intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at the Red Sea export port of Yanbu and the city of Taif.

Compass Insight

Thursday was a tug-of-war between relief and rates. The trade truce and the Hormuz headlines both pointed toward calmer conditions, and they pulled stocks off their lows. But neither changes the core problem: yields keep climbing because growth is strong and energy costs are high. That pressure is now spreading abroad — Japan’s 10-year yield hit 3.075%, its highest since 1996. In the short term, watch whether the Hormuz talks produce anything concrete; oil is the swing factor for inflation. Over the medium term, the Fed’s late-October meeting and the Jan. 10 truce deadline are the two dates most likely to set the direction for stocks, the dollar and borrowing costs.

Markets

  • Dow: 51,349.98, down 161.61 (-0.31%), a third straight decline
  • S&P 500: 7,704.13, down 0.02%; Nasdaq: 26,939.37, up 0.01%
  • Oil: WTI rose 2.82% to $94.76; Brent climbed to $106.39 after briefly topping $108 on the Houthi attack
  • Dollar/yen: 158.85 yen (ECB reference rate, Sept. 24, via frankfurter API)
  • Tokyo: The Nikkei 225 rose 495.04 to 65,513.99 as AI and chip stocks rallied after the holiday break

Stocks in Focus

  • Oracle (ORCL) fell about 4% after reports it sent a “force majeure” notice on a New Mexico data center project (CNBC).
  • Nebius (NBIS) gained more than 6% after Bank of America raised its revenue forecasts through 2028 (CNBC).
  • Japanese chipmakers — Advantest, Ibiden and Tokyo Electron together added more than 500 points to the Nikkei, helped by Meta’s new AI glasses launch (Nikkei).

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Auto-generated and AI-written. Not investment advice.