US Market Wrap 8 October: Nasdaq Falls 1.25 Percent as the Dow Edges Higher

By The Edge Research Team

Three of the five US indices we track closed lower on Thursday as chip stocks slid, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.10 percent higher. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.25 percent, a second straight decline, and the Nasdaq 100’s 1.39 percent drop was the day’s deepest. The small-cap Russell 2000 added 0.03 percent. The Treasury’s long end rallied after a 30-year auction drew solid demand, the 30-year par rate down seven basis points at 5.60 percent. Brent settled 4.08 dollars higher at 104.28 dollars a barrel, as published in our Commodities Wrap of 8 October 2026.

A strong 30-year auction turns the bond selloff

Reuters’ bond report had most Treasury yields falling for just the second time this week after the government’s 30-year auction priced at 5.618 percent, below the expected rate at the bid deadline, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.54 against a 2.41 average over the last six auctions and indirect bidders, who include foreign investors, taking 72.3 percent of the supply. On its reading the benchmark 10-year yield fell 5 basis points to 5.227 percent, one day after a 24-year high, and the spread between 2-year and 10-year yields narrowed to 47.1 basis points from 51.4 after touching 54.2, its steepest since mid-August. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said additional rate increases would likely be needed to bring inflation back to the 2 percent target while keeping what he called flexibility on the pace, and his remarks pushed 2-year yields higher on the same reading. The par curve the Treasury published for Thursday tells the session plainly: eight of the fourteen maturities finished lower, the 20-year and 30-year each down seven basis points, while the 1-month rose seven.

Chips drag the Nasdaq while energy and the staples climb

Reuters’ closing report had chipmakers, up more than 80 percent this year, falling 3.4 percent after a Financial Times report that OpenAI’s annualized revenues were 20 billion dollars less than the company had signaled, with Micron Technology down 4.8 percent and Broadcom and Oracle, both tied to reports of financing for OpenAI, down 4.4 and 5.5 percent. Energy stocks led the sector gainers as crude settled sharply higher, and the staples climbed with PepsiCo up 3.7 percent after the company said it would pursue additional spending cuts while lowering its annual core profit forecast. Chipotle Mexican Grill jumped 6.2 percent on reports that Starbucks is exploring a purchase of the chain, with Starbucks 0.4 percent lower, and Palantir climbed 2.4 percent on a Goldman Sachs upgrade. Markets end the day expecting the Federal Reserve to leave rates unchanged this month, with a December increase priced at 69.2 percent on CME’s FedWatch tool as the report carried it. Breadth split with the indexes: advancers led decliners 1.28-to-1 on the NYSE while decliners led 1.33-to-1 on the Nasdaq, on volume of 18.81 billion shares against a 17.74 billion 20-day average.

Top gainers

Closes of Thursday 8 October 2026 from the price feed, ranked by change against Wednesday’s closes as published. Run lengths count against our published closes.

Top losers

Top losers, same session and basis, ranked shallowest to deepest.

S&P 500 sectors

The three strongest and three weakest of the eleven sectors, same read and basis; omitted middle: real estate +0.58 percent at 261.13, materials +0.46 at 625.95, industrials +0.30 at 1,425.58, communication services -0.06 at 474.15, utilities -0.26 at 417.14.

Treasury par yield curve

The Treasury’s daily par yield curve for 8 October, read at the Treasury; changes are our subtraction of its two daily rows. Other maturities: 1M 4.14, 1.5M 4.14, 2M 4.13, 4M 4.29, 6M 4.30, 1Y 4.44, 3Y 4.85, 7Y 5.11, 20Y 5.64.

Commodities

Carried unchanged from our Commodities Wrap of 8 October 2026 on its stated 20:58 GMT snapshot basis; Brent and WTI settled at 104.28 and 91.49 dollars, as published there.

Currencies, volatility and crypto

Intraday quotes at 20:59 GMT, in fixed order; snapshots, not settlements.

Asia, session of Thursday 8 October

Carried whole from our Asia Market Wrap of 8 October 2026, in its published order; all ten indices closed lower, and the Shanghai and Shenzhen changes are measured against 30 September across the holiday, as disclosed there.

Middle East, session of Thursday 8 October

Carried whole from our Middle East Market Wrap of 8 October 2026, gainers then losers in its published order; Egypt’s EGX did not trade for the holiday and resumes Sunday 11 October, as disclosed there.

Europe, session of Thursday 8 October

Carried whole from our Europe Market Wrap of 8 October 2026, its single gainer then the losers in published order; eight of the nine closed lower, as disclosed there.

Why it matters: The bond market and the oil market ran in opposite directions on Thursday, and equities split along the seam: the sectors that earn the barrel or defend a budget rose while the ones priced on growth and chips fell, and the indexes that carry the most technology fell furthest. A 30-year auction that drew demand strong enough to turn the day’s yields says long-dated US debt still finds buyers at these levels, which is the one reassurance a week of global bond selling had lacked. Across everything we published on Thursday, Amsterdam’s AEX holds the day’s best close at 0.31 percent higher and Singapore’s Straits Times the deepest fall at 3.49 percent lower, on our count.

Outlook: Our Asia wrap follows after Friday’s session, where Dubai and Abu Dhabi trade while the rest of the Gulf is on its weekend. The oil report expects Hurricane Isaias at landfall on Friday, and Egypt’s statistics agency publishes September inflation on Saturday, as published in our Middle East wrap of 8 October.

How these wraps are prepared: Methodology.

Sources: US Treasury, CNBC, Reuters, The Edge.

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