U.S. Stocks Mixed as Semiconductor Shares Gain Despite Pressure from Higher Treasury Yields

[Financial News] U.S. stocks closed mixed on the 18th, local time, as rising Treasury yields and gains in semiconductor shares pulled the market in opposite directions. Falling oil prices eased inflation concerns somewhat, but the possibility of another rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed) weighed on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 95.40 points, or 0.18%, from the previous session to close at 51,682.64. The S&P 500 Index rose 12.74 points, or 0.17%, to 7,650.50, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 104.25 points, or 0.39%, to finish at 26,522.55.
Rising U.S. Treasury yields limited investor sentiment. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed back above 5%, while the two-year yield rose to 4.741%, its highest level since July 2024. The interest-rate futures market priced in roughly a 55% chance that the Fed would raise its policy rate by an additional 0.25 percentage point at next month's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Semiconductor shares, meanwhile, supported the broader market as enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) investment continued. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 2.78%. NVIDIA gained 1.34%, while Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) climbed 2.97% and 2.70%, respectively. Micron Technology also jumped 3.92%.
International oil prices fell for a third consecutive day on expectations that damage to Saudi Arabia's east-west oil pipeline would be less severe than initially expected. West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) futures fell 1.58% to $100.30 a barrel, while November Brent crude declined 0.91% to $103.87.
The dollar strengthened. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six major currencies, rose to around 100.4, its highest level in about seven weeks. It gained approximately 1.2% on the week.
The yen weakened after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its policy rate to 1.25% but offered no clear signal of further increases. The yen-dollar exchange rate rose as high as 158.05 yen per dollar, its highest level in two weeks. 

[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter