Wall St indexes eye weekly losses; bond yields and Iran in focus

BusinessWall St indexes eye weekly losses; bond yields and Iran in focusBy Reuters -Aug 22, 2026Add ARY News on GoogleA trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 19, 2026. REUTERS/Jeenah MoonAAResizeThe main U.S. stock indexes rose on Friday but ​were on track for weekly losses after days of fluctuating government bond yields and a lack of clarity on progress in the ‌Middle East rattled investors. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were looking to snap a three-week winning streak, while the Dow was headed for a second consecutive weekly loss and its steepest weekly decline since mid-March. Equity investors have been reacting to the direction of U.S. government bond yields in recent sessions as the prospect of higher borrowing costs fanned worries about inflation ​and dampened risk appetite. Stocks had closed lower on Thursday as bond yields rose. Stocks had moved higher on Wednesday as bond yields fell. ​U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that the government could further increase its Treasury repurchases after a surprise announcement ⁠on Wednesday that it would spend double the expected amount on bond buybacks. “Markets are taking a bit of a breather. It’s a pretty calm day,” said ​Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We’ve had a bit of a seesaw week where we had some ups and downs ​around Treasury yields climbing and the intervention from Treasury Secretary Bessent.” Also helping to ease investor worries was Friday’s economic data, which showed that the strongest growth in the U.S. services sector in nearly two years powered a sharp acceleration in overall business activity in August. This offset a slowing of growth in a manufacturing sector that is being restrained by reduced ​stock building and supply disruptions from the Iran war. However, oil futures rose again on Friday for a sixth straight day, after U.S. Preside...