Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Rise, Nasdaq Falls as Bessent Intensifies Economic Pressure on Iran

U.S. stock futures were swinging between gains and losses on Friday, as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices rose, while the Nasdaq 100 index fell, following Thursday's higher close.

September's import prices data revealed a sharp 1.1% increase from the previous month, marking the largest annual surge since July 2022 as fuel and nonfuel costs accelerated.

Treasury yields pulled back from multi-decade highs Thursday, with a rout in semiconductor stocks sending investors into government bonds, according to The Kobeissi Letter. The 10-year Treasury yield traded around 5.085% Thursday, down from a 24-year high of 5.36% last week, while the 30-year was at 5.429%, down from 5.73%, its highest level since 2002.

Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would intensify economic pressure on Iran, writing that “The noose is tightening around Iran’s economy,” as a naval blockade curbs oil exports and the rial tumbles; Reuters reported Iran’s seaborne crude exports fell to zero in the second week of September and remained at zero as of Oct. 5.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 5.10%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.74%, at the last check. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in an 85.1% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged after its October meeting.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket trading on Friday. The SPY was up 0.24% at $773.67, while the QQQ advanced 0.13% to $728.98.