US pre-open: Futures slip as yields and oil push higher ahead of Fed minutes

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday, pausing after the S&P 500's latest record high, as both Treasury yields and oil prices pushed higher. As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.51%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.26% and 0.56% lower, respectively.

The Dow closed 253.38 points higher on Tuesday on the back of a solid performance by chipmakers and easing bond yields.

However, futures headed south as the yield on the benchmark 10‑year Treasury note climbed almost five basis points to 5.336%, while the 30‑year rose more than five basis points to 5.713%, extending the recent surge that has taken long‑dated borrowing costs to multi‑year highs.

Oil also moved higher, with West Texas Intermiediate crude up 0.65% at $90.02 a barrel and Brent up 1.32% at $101.91 a barrel, weighing on both sentiment and Treasury yields.

Wednesday's primary focus will likely be minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest two-day meeting, scheduled for release at 1900 BST, with traders hoping to gain further insight into the central bank's thinking regarding the future of monetary policy.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications fell 4.2% in the week ended 2 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, marking a fifth straight decline and taking activity to its lowest level since January 2025. Applications to refinancing a mortgage, which are typically more sensitive to short-term interest rate changes, slid 7.5% on the week, while applications to purchase a home were 2.1% lower. The drop came as the 30‑year fixed mortgage rate jumped to 7.49%, its highest in nearly three years.

In the corporate space, iconic jeansmaker Levi Strauss will report earnings after the close.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com