Finance

Crude oil futures experienced a notable cooldown, with Brent crude dropping below $98 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate nearing $92 per barrel. The decline followed news indicating that U.S. and Iranian negotiators are discussing a phased arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This drop in energy prices brought relief to the fixed-income sector, helping the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ease back to 5.17% after briefly touching multi-year highs near 5.22%.

Strong corporate performance helped cushion Wall Street from ongoing macroeconomic worries. Akamai Technologies saw its stock price surge 7% following the announcement of an $11.6 billion, multiyear cloud services agreement with artificial intelligence developer Anthropic. Additionally, Costco Wholesale shares rose 2.4% after the major retailer reported quarterly profits that exceeded consensus estimates from Wall Street analysts.

The final September reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index edged up to 48.1 from its preliminary figure of 47.8. Despite the minor upgrade, overall sentiment remains lower than the previous month's level of 51.7. High fuel prices continue to weigh heavily on consumer expectations, keeping inflation concerns prominent as long-term inflation outlooks saw a small increase.