Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Benchmark Treasury Yield Rises 5%

03:24 PM EDT, 09/18/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes traded mixed in the final leg of trading while government bond yields rebounded, with the 10-year hovering near its highest level in almost two decades. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 26,460.5, and the S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1% to 7,642.1 ahead of Friday's close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 51,688.5. Materials and utilities led decliners. "We now expect two more hikes from the [Federal Reserve], and our commodity analysts see energy markets facing a convergence of supply chain disruptions," Morgan Stanley said in a note after Wednesday's 25-basis-point rate increase. "A higher expected path for oil prices means disinflation will be slower, and more restrictive policy also weighs on growth in 2027." Morgan Stanley expects rate increases of the same magnitude in December and March, to a target range of 4.25 to 4.50%. "They hold there through the end of next year." US Treasury yields rose after midday. The 10-year yield jumped 5.5 basis points to 5%, trading near its strongest level since 2007. The two-year yield climbed 5.5 basis points to 4.75%, a multi-month high. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract fell 2.3% to $99.61 per barrel, while the global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 1.6% to $103.09 per barrel.