US stock indexes close higher Friday but post weekly losses amid bond yield volatility

Wall Street ended Friday on a high note that masked a pretty rough week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 517.80 points, or 0.98%, to close at 53,277.01. The S&P 500 added 33.21 points (0.43%) to finish at 7,674.37. The Nasdaq Composite rose 113.29 points (0.44%) to 26,180.46. For the week, the S&P 500 dropped 1.43%, the Nasdaq fell 2.05%, and the Dow slid 0.85%, snapping recent winning streaks across all three benchmarks. The culprits: a spike in long-dated Treasury yields that rattled equity investors, rising oil prices fueled by Middle East tensions, and lingering inflation anxiety. Treasury yields hit levels not seen since 2007 The 30-year US Treasury yield peaked at 5.327% around August 18, its highest reading since 2007. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s mid-week announcement regarding increased bond buybacks helped stabilize things slightly toward the end of the week. The yield surge was partly driven by inflation concerns that have been building for weeks. Brent crude rose 6.39% for the week while US crude climbed 5.66%, marking six consecutive sessions of gains. Those increases traced directly back to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly ...