Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. equity futures were little changed Wednesday evening after the major averages snapped a three-day losing run sparked by rising Treasury yields amid more fighting between the U.S. and Iran.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.05%. Dow futures were down 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.12%.
Stocks closed higher in Wednesday’s regular trading, with all three major averages ending a three-day slump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 300 points, or about 0.6%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each gained 0.5%.
On Wednesday, the 2-year Treasury yield hit 4.41%, the highest level since January 2025. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly touched 4.818%, the highest mark since November 2023. Both ended the day off their highs, however. Oil prices were modestly higher on the day, with West Texas Intermediate futures rising 0.9% to close just above $91 a barrel.
Though investors are worried about inflation, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams told CNBC on Wednesday he sees higher Treasury yields as the result of solid economic prospects following record-breaking corporate profits in the second quarter.
“What’s driving it, in large part, is … really a strong U.S. economy and a strong economic outlook fueled by big investments in AI and data centers and technology in general,” he said. “So, I think it’s not really about financial conditions affecting the economy. It’s more about the economy affecting financial conditions.”
Earlier in the week, stocks were falling and bond yields were rising amid renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. officials had signaled a transition from overt military action to economic sanctions prior to the resumption of hostilities in which the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes.
“I’m finding it hard to make real sense of it,” Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, told CNBC on Wednesday. “It looked as though over the last few weeks we had switched to an economic coercive approach … I thought we’d come to the conclusion that more military action wasn’t going to pay off.”
On Thursday, traders will have an eye on weekly jobless claims. The main event for economic data will be out on Friday in the form of August’s payrolls report.
In terms of earnings, reports are due from optical networking player Ciena and consumer staples giant Campbell’s Thursday morning. Zscaler, Docusign and UiPath will report in the afternoon.
Broadcom pares back losses after 5% after-hours dip
Stanislav Kogiku | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Shares of chipmaker Broadcom climbed back into break-even territory after dipping by 5% immediately after reporting earnings on Wednesday.
Shares were down just 0.22% as of 6:12PM ET. The company’s revenue forecast for the fourth quarter came in at $34.8 billion versus a $35.03 billion estimate. Fourth quarter non-GAAP operating margin projections were placed at 66%, below the 66.5% estimate from Wall Street.
— Tobias Burns
Stocks making the biggest moves in after-hours trading
A slate of companies issued their latest earnings reports after the bell, and their stocks posted notable moves.
Snowflake – Shares surged more than 20% after the company’s second-quarter results topped analyst expectations. For the quarter, Snowflake posted adjusted earnings of 62 cents per share on revenue of $1.55 billion.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise – The enterprise technology company slipped 4%. HPE is calling for earnings growth of 16% to 20% for the fiscal year ending October 2027, while the FactSet consensus sought a 18.7% increase.
Petco – The pet products retailer jumped about 9%. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the second quarter came in at 8.2% versus the StreetAccount consensus estimate of 7.4%. Excluding a tariff benefit, the metric came in at 7.7%, which would still beat analysts’ expectations.
Read more about Wednesday’s movers in extended trading here.
–Darla Mercado
Stock futures open little changed
Futures linked to the major U.S. averages were little changed on Wednesday night.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.04%, while Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.1%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed.
—Darla Mercado