Bitcoin Tops $80,000, S&P 500 Slips as Yields Reclaim 5%: Stock Market Today

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) punched through $80,000 on Friday, driving a rally in crypto equities even as broader markets stalled under rising bond yields.

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid delivered a hawkish signal, defending rate hikes against sticky, broad-based inflation above 3%.

Bond yields spiked in response:

• The 10-year Treasury note surging 7 basis points back to 5%.
• The 2-year yield rose 7 basis points to 4.75%
• The 30-year climbed 4 basis points to 5.34%.

Energy Prices Offer Rare Bit of Relief

West Texas Intermediate crude eased 0.4% to $101.50 a barrel and Brent slipped 0.5% to $104.26, extending a mid-week retreat even as supply concerns tied to Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East stayed live.

Natural gas moved the other way, adding 0.8% to $2.92 per MMBtu, keeping the energy inflation story on the table.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 7,621.16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 222 points, or 0.4%, to 51,555.73. 

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) was the heaviest weight on the blue-chip index, falling 3%.

The Nasdaq 100 was the most resilient of the majors, hovering just below the flatline at 29,425.62.

The Russell 2000 was the clear laggard again, down 0.9% to 2,848.24 and now off 3.7% for September.

Gold firmed as the pullback in crude eased near-term inflation anxiety, with spot bullion up 0.4% to $4,358 an ounce and the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) gaining 0.4%. Silver outpaced it, rising 1.6% to $66.24.

Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices

Index	Last	% Change	MTD	YTD
S&P 500	7,621.16	-0.2%	-0.9%	+11.3%
Dow Jones	51,555.73	-0.4%	-3.1%	+7.3%
Nasdaq 100	29,425.62	-0.1%	-0.1%	+16.5%
Russell 2000	2,848.24	-0.9%	-3.7%	+14.8%

According to the Benzinga Pro platform:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) fell 0.2%.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) slid 0.7%.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) edged down 0.1%.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) dropped 0.9%.

Materials, Solar Lead Sector Drag As Chips Buck Trend

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) rose 0.2%, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) essentially flat behind it.

The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) was the worst performer, down 1.5%, followed by the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU), both off 1.1%. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) shed 0.2% as banks and asset managers traded in the red on the back-up in yields.

At the industry level, the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (NYSE:XME) was the day’s biggest casualty, down 2.3%, with the Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN) off 2.2% and the VanEck Agribusiness ETF (NYSE:MOO) down 1.7%.

Semiconductors bucked the tape, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) up 0.6% and the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS) adding 0.2%.

The chip rebound was led by equipment names, with Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ:LRCX) up 5.1%, Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) up 4.1% and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) adding 1.4%, recovering some ground lost when AI security concerns prompted investors to reconsider the pace of datacenter spending. Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) rose 7.3% on the memory bid.

AI hyperscalers went the other way on their debt issuance spree, with Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) down 3.3%.

The Session’s Dominant Story Sits Outside Sector Map

Bitcoin extended a roughly 5% weekly advance, after the Securities and Exchange Commission granted an innovation exemption enabling trading in tokenized stocks. 

Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) surged 12.9% to $149.25 as the most levered listed proxy on the token, and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (AMEX:BMNR) climbed 7.4% on the same digital-asset treasury trade.

The exchanges and brokers rode the same wave. Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) jumped 10.6% to $192.32 on volumes and the SEC tokenization exemption, while Bullish (NYSE:BLSH) added 7.4%, extending Thursday’s gains on the same ruling. 

Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) rose 7.7% to $118.22, with analysts this week raising targets on accelerating Robinhood Chain fee growth and expanding prediction-market volumes. Galaxy Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GLXY) gained 7.6%.

The pain was concentrated in steel and speculative growth. 

Nucor Corp. (NYSE:NUE) sank 6% after guiding third-quarter earnings to $5.55-$5.65 per diluted share late Thursday, well short of the roughly $6.20 analysts were modeling, with weaker raw materials pricing and shipments offsetting higher steel mill realizations. Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) slid alongside it on its own soft guide.

Space Gives Back Recent Gains

AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) fell 7.1% to $58.26 and Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) dropped 5.4% to $64.17, with Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) down 4% alongside them.

IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) fell 5.6% to $38.07, another high-beta casualty of the rotation out of long-duration speculative growth as real yields pushed higher.

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the odd name out in a rising semiconductor tape, sliding 5.8% to $177.70. The move follows a roughly 18% one-month run built on the company’s multi-generational AI datacenter collaboration with Amazon announced Sept. 8, and looks like profit-taking against the Apple modem revenue cliff still ahead. 

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) also fell 5.1% as record-high diesel prices pressure demand for full-size pickups and SUVs that generate the bulk of GM’s margin.

Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers

Name	% change
Strategy Inc.	+12.85%
Coinbase Global, Inc.	+10.55%
Robinhood Markets, Inc.	+7.66%
Bullish	+7.38%
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc.	+7.35%

Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers

Name	% change
AST SpaceMobile, Inc.	-7.10%
Nucor Corporation	-5.95%
QUALCOMM Incorporated	-5.83%
IonQ, Inc.	-5.62%
Rocket Lab Corporation	-5.39%

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