A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 19, 2026.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
The S&P 500 fell slightly on Monday as a drop in key technology stocks overshadowed a move lower in Treasury yields.
The broad market index fell 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 187 points, or 0.4%.
Declines in chip stocks weighed on the broader market. Micron Technology shed more than 6%, while Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom pulled back 3% and around 2%, respectively. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) slid almost 3%.
Other tech stocks fell as well. Coherent and Lumentum dropped more than 7%, while Sandisk dropped 9%. Corning moved down 4%, while Seagate Technology declined 6%.
Treasury yields moved lower after CNBC reported that the Treasury may use the General Account to fund a buyback operation. The 10-year Treasury note yield fell 3 basis points to 4.708%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond, which topped 5.3% last week to reach levels not seen in nearly 20 years, shed more than 3 basis points to 5.237%.
The report comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC last week that the Treasury Department’s plans to at least double the level of government debt buybacks in the next few months could be larger than the $4 billion that was announced earlier that week.
Some reprieve was given to the long end of the U.S. yield curve after the initial announcement, but it was ultimately short-lived.
Stocks have been pressured by rising bond yields around the globe, with rates in Japan, France and Germany scaling to multi-year highs. Investors grew fearful that the U.S.-Iran war would continue for longer, keeping oil prices elevated and driving inflation higher.
“The Treasury attempt to cap long rates by issuing more short-term paper as the financing tool will tether US government interest rate expense ever closer to what the Federal Reserve does with the fed funds rate,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at One Point BFG Wealth Partners. “I don’t think this is something Kevin Warsh will talk about in his speech Friday but it is a new element he’s going to have to deal with.”
Chairman Kevin Warsh is expected to deliver a speech at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Weighing on sentiment Monday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will increase tariffs on imports of “all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel” from Canada to 50%, effective Jan. 1, 2027.