Finance

The U.S. Treasury Department announced a major policy shift, stating it will double the maximum size of its longer-term debt buyback operations to at least $4 billion per operation starting in September. This unexpected decision caused longer-duration bond yields to experience their sharpest single-day drop in months, helping calm a highly stressed fixed-income market.

The healthcare sector significantly outperformed the broader market, fueled by shares of Moderna skyrocketing more than 170% on a cancer vaccine breakthrough alongside strong gains from Merck. Conversely, large tech infrastructure and semiconductor firms heavily tied to the artificial intelligence boom continued to slide as investors reassess valuations.

Digital assets witnessed a major rally with Bitcoin climbing back to the $69,000 mark and Ether jumping roughly 10%. Momentum in the crypto space was accelerated by the broader macro pullback in bond yields and a newly proposed offering framework by the SEC that aims to clarify capital raising exemptions for digital asset companies.