Finance

A deepening global bond sell-off has pushed the yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury note to 5.33%, a level not seen since 2007. The severe fixed-income rout is fueled by escalating geopolitical risks, heavy government debt supply, and rising expenditure on artificial intelligence and defense projects. Furthermore, a report showing that major foreign entities reduced their holdings of American debt has added substantial pressure to long-term borrowing costs.

Heavyweight technology and semiconductor companies faced a broad sell-off, heavily dragging down Nasdaq futures. Prominent memory-chip makers and data storage providers, including Sandisk, Western Digital, and Marvell Technology, suffered notable pullbacks after a brief early-week rally halted. This retreat was exacerbated by high bond yields lowering the present value of future tech profits, alongside market fatigue regarding intensive artificial intelligence capital expenditures.

Home Depot bucked the downward market trend, gaining value after reporting second-quarter financial results that exceeded Wall Street estimates for both revenue and earnings per share. The home-improvement giant managed to reaffirm its full-year guidance despite navigating a high-interest-rate environment and a sluggish domestic housing market. This positive report provided a slight cushion for blue-chip stock indicators amid widespread losses elsewhere.