Stock futures inch higher as traders weather latest rise in Treasury yields: Live updates

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Stock futures inched higher on Tuesday evening, following another session in which equities succumbed to pressure from rising bond yields.

Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.16%. S&P 500 futures were also up 0.16%. Nasdaq-100 futures moved up 0.26%.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 was poised to rise, with its Chicago futures contract at 66,345, compared with the index's previous close of 65,481.27. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 24,364, while the index's last close of 24,523.57. Futures for Australia's S&P/ASX 200 were slightly higher at 8,747, compared with the index last close.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield hit a high above 5.6% on Tuesday, reaching levels not seen since June 2002. The 10-year yield, meanwhile, scaled to a fresh 2007 high near 5.3%. Those moves led the Dow to a decline of more than 100 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slid 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

Those moves came even as oil prices tumbled on the day.

Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, noted that equities are "trying to hang in there, but tighter financial conditions are emboldening the bears and lifting interest in downside hedges."

To be sure, new comments from New York Federal Reserve President John Williams appeared to have eased fears of higher central bank rates, at least for the moment. Williams said late Tuesday, "there is no need for urgency, and we have time to gather more information" before the Fed's October meeting.

The CME Group's FedWatch tool shows traders are pricing in a 49% chance of a quarter-point rate hike next month. That's down from 71% on Monday.

Heading into Wednesday, traders will have their sights set on the August reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. Economists polled by Dow Jones see the metric rising 0.3% for the month, leading to an annual pace of 3.7%.

Wednesday marks the last day of September and the third quarter. Market performance has been mixed in both timeframes. For the month, the S&P 500 and Dow are tracking for declines while the Nasdaq is up more than 1%. For the quarter, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are up 2%, while the Dow is off nearly 2%.

New Updates29 Mins AgoJapan's Nikkei 225 set to open higher as oil prices dropAsia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed, as investors assessed U.S. stocks which fell after U.S. Treasury yields reached fresh multiyear highs.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was poised to rise, with the Chicago futures contract at 66,345 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 66,310, compared with the index's previous close of 65,481.27.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 24,364, compared with the index's last close of 24,523.57.

Futures for Australia's S&P/ASX 200 last traded at 8,747, while the index closed at 8,709.30.

Oil prices fell as concerns over supply disruptions eased on news of a recovery in Saudi Arabia's crude exports from its Red Sea ports following an attack on a key pipeline earlier this month.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, fell 2.6% to close at $102.59 a barrel on Tuesday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell by around 3.5% to $89.38.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage hit 7.58% on Tuesday, the highest level since November, 2023.

Borrowing costs for consumers are set to rise as the Federal Reserve is projecting to raise overnight interest rates to 4.1% by the end of the year, up from its current range of 3.75% to 4%.

Longer term interest rates are also rising. The 10-yr yield hit a high of 5.293% on Tuesday, the highest level since 2007 when the 10-yr yielded as high as 5.328%.

U.S. stock futures opened slightly higher at 6 p.m. in New York.

S&P 500 futures and Dow futures advanced about 0.2%, while Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.3%.