PrintUS Equity Indexes, Treasury Yields Mixed as Investors Monitor Iran War
BY MT Newswires | TREASURY | 03/13/26 01:55 PM EDT01:55 PM EDT, 03/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes and government bond yields were mixed in midday trading on Friday as investors monitored developments in the war with Iran alongside the Federal Reserve's inflation data.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 22,147.1, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% to 6,650.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 46,669.4.
Communication services and technology led the decliners, while utilities and real estate were among the top gainers.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news briefing that Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been "wounded and likely disfigured," as he claimed that Iran's leadership has been severely weakened due to US military operations, CNN reported.
The US has issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea, Reuters reported. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move was a step to stabilise global energy markets roiled by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 1.5% to $97.13.
US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year yield up 1.4 basis points to 4.29%. The two-year yield slipped three basis points to 3.73%.
In economic news, the annual headline personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index growth decelerated to 2.8% in January from December's 2.9%, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday, and in line with the pace estimated by the Street. Month-on-month, the metric eased to 0.3%, in line with market expectations, from 0.4%.
The Fed's preferred measure, which excludes food and energy, advanced to 3.1% annually from 3% in December, and held steady at 0.4% sequentially. Both measures met the Bloomberg-compiled consensus.
Real gross domestic product grew at a 0.7% annualized rate in the December quarter, according to a second estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Wall Street expected growth to match the initial 1.4% estimate, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 55.5 in March from 56.6 in February, compared with 54.8 in a Bloomberg-compiled poll. Respondents saw one-year inflation expectations at 3.4%, in line with February, while the five-year inflation forecast slowed to 3.2% from 3.3%.
US job openings increased to 6.946 million in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, above the 6.750 million openings expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and up from the 6.550 million openings reported in December.
In company news, Ulta Beauty
Adobe (ADBE) said it has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice to conclude a June 2024 lawsuit concerning its subscription disclosure and cancellation procedures. Shares dropped 6.5%, the worst performer on the Nasdaq.
In precious metals, gold futures slipped 1.2% to $5,064.2 per troy ounce, and silver futures declined 4.6% to $81.18 per troy ounce.
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