S&P 500 futures were relatively unchanged on Wednesday as bond yields marched higher, with traders worried about the impact of rising oil prices on inflation. Futures tied to the broad market index traded around the flatline, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 87 points, or 0.2%. Private U.S. companies added jobs at a slightly slower-than-expected pace in August, with gains concentrated heavily in health care and a few other industries, ADP reported Wednesday. The payroll processing firm said firms added 38,000 workers, fewer than the upwardly revised 46,000 in July and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 47,000. The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield hit a high of 4.814% on the day, a level not seen since November 2023. Yields in the U.K., Germany, and France also rose. In Japan, the 10-year government yield traded around multi-decade highs. “Higher yields are proving to be the stock market’s undoing,” said Thierry Wizman, global foreign exchange and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. “They force analysts to discount higher earnings more aggressively, thus forcing [price-to-earnings] multiples downward.” Yields have been rising on fears inflation could increase due to higher oil prices. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.85% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 4%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.97%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 1.38% lower. Oil prices were volatile on Wednesday, as Mideast tensions continue to escalate after the U.S. carried out its latest round of attacks on Iran and Tehran reportedly struck back at Washington’s regional allies. Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for November delivery fell 40 cents, or 0.4%, at $94.27
a barrel as of 8:43 a.m. ET, paring earlier gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for October were down 0.7% at $89.62 per barrel, having added around 1% earlier in the session. Gold fell on Wednesday to its lowest in more than three weeks, as the escalating Middle East conflict lifted oil prices and stoked inflation and rate-hike fears. Spot gold was down 0.6% at $4,304.01 per ounce by 0017 GMT, its lowest since August 7. Prices were headed for a fourth straight session of losses and remained below the 200-day moving average, a closely watched technical level. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 1% to $4,350.80. The U.S. dollar held firm, making greenback-priced metals costlier for buyers using other currencies.