Finance

U.S. Treasury yields pushed higher across the curve as traders increased their expectations for additional Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The monetary policy-sensitive two-year yield advanced to 4.90%, while the 10-year note yield continued its ascent past the 5.0% threshold. These elevated risk-free rates continue to raise corporate borrowing costs and squeeze the equity risk premium.

Prominent private credit firms, including Apollo Global Management and Blackstone, have placed 5% caps on quarterly redemptions. The defensive measures follow elevated investor requests to pull capital, heavily driven by worries regarding lending standards, infrequent asset valuations, and vulnerabilities to AI disruptions in software investments. These limits aim to shield long-term strategies from being forced to sell assets during broader market volatility.

Bitcoin prices continue to fluctuate in the low $80,000 range, remaining slightly down for the year compared to its January opening. Despite facing macro pressure from recent Federal Reserve hawkishness and regulatory uncertainties, the cryptocurrency is finding a stable floor. Strong inflows into digital asset ETFs and institutional accumulation have helped bitcoin sustain its position above its 50-week moving average.