U.S. stock futures have fallen on Wednesday as oil prices and Treasury yields rose, reversing part of the momentum that carried the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record closes. Investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s September meeting minutes while tracking corporate news and the approaching earnings season.

U.S. Stock Futures Extend Losses After Record Closes

At 6:02 a.m. ET, Dow futures fell 178 points, or 0.34%. S&P 500 futures dropped 11.25 points, or 0.14%, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost 129.25 points, or 0.41%. These figures reflected trading before the regular U.S. session.

Losses deepened later in the morning, while technology shares led the retreat. The Nasdaq was heading toward an opening decline of about 0.6%. 

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 0.58% and closed above 7,800 for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45% to another record. Meanwhile, the Dow remained about 5% below its August 5 closing peak.

Oil and Treasury Yields Rise Again

Brent crude traded near USD 102 a barrel as traders assessed Middle East supply risks. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate approached USD 90. Renewed attacks involving Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Saudi targets kept attention on energy supplies and shipping routes.

Treasury yields also reversed Tuesday’s decline. The benchmark 10-year yield climbed roughly six basis points to 5.326%, while the 30-year yield approached 5.706%, its highest level since 2002. On Monday, the 10-year yield had moved above 5.35%.

Separately, the Treasury scheduled a USD 39 billion sale of 10-year notes for Wednesday. The auction follows Tuesday’s sale of three-year notes, with another USD 22 billion offering of 30-year bonds scheduled for Thursday.

Fed Minutes Lead Wednesday’s Calendar

The Federal Reserve will release its September meeting minutes at 2 p.m. ET. Policymakers raised interest rates at that meeting, marking the central bank’s first increase since 2023. Investors now await further details about the discussion on inflation and employment.

CME FedWatch data showed traders assigning a 78% probability to unchanged rates at the October meeting. That left a 22% chance of another increase. Markets still largely priced in a December hike, although those probabilities can change as economic data arrives.

Alongside the minutes, investors are preparing for company reports. Levi Strauss and Applied Digital are scheduled to release earnings after Wednesday’s closing bell. Several major financial companies will report next Tuesday as the third-quarter season gathers pace.

Chip Shares Retreat as Company News Drives Trading

Micron Technology fell 2.2% before the opening bell, while Marvell Technology declined 1.2%. Other semiconductor shares also weakened after helping lift the major indexes during Tuesday’s session.

SpaceX shares dropped 2.1% following a report that the company sought USD 40 billion to finance Nvidia chip purchases. In contrast, Intel gained 1.3% after a report said it would maintain its work on Elon Musk’s Terafab chipmaking project.

Constellation Brands fell 4.5% after lowering its annual operating margin forecast. Crypto-related shares also moved lower as Bitcoin slipped toward USD 83,700, compared with overnight levels around USD 85,700. The dollar index rose 0.5%, while gold futures declined roughly 1.1%.

Earnings Expectations Remain Strong as Overseas Markets Fall

Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to report combined third-quarter earnings growth of 30.6%, according to LSEG. Forecasts put energy-sector growth at 114.7% and technology growth at 66.5%. Those estimates compare with a 54% increase in overall earnings during the second quarter.

Still, recent gains have concentrated in fewer stocks. UBS strategist Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi warned, “The breadth of the rally has narrowed.” Citadel Research showed only 25% of S&P 500 companies trading above their 50-day moving averages at the end of the previous quarter.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.92% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi lost nearly 2%. European shares also declined, with Germany’s DAX down around 1.3% and France’s CAC 40 roughly 1% lower. Mainland Chinese exchanges remained closed for the Golden Week holiday.

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