Rising Bond Yields Rattle Markets      10/01 09:36

   Another crank higher in bond yields is rattling stock markets around the 
world on Thursday and helping to overshadow optimism that the 
artificial-intelligence industry can keep climbing.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Another crank higher in bond yields is rattling stock 
markets around the world on Thursday and helping to overshadow optimism that 
the artificial-intelligence industry can keep climbing.

   The S&P 500 fell 0.2% after giving up an early gain and is heading toward 
its seventh loss in the last eight days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 
down 191 points, or 0.4% as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq 
composite was 0.1% lower.

   The losses were even sharper in Europe, where bond yields saw a significant 
jump overnight. Stock indexes tumbled 1.6% in London and 1.3% in Paris after 
the yield on the 10-year U.K. government bond swung as high as 5.53% before 
falling to 5.37% and then charging upward again.

   High yields slow the overall economy by making it more expensive for 
everyone to borrow money, while undercutting prices for stocks and other 
investments.

   Yields are on the rise for a range of reasons, including worries about high 
inflation and oil prices, signals that the U.S. economy remains solid and 
governments' insistence to continue to spend much more money than they bring in.

   Those worries don't look to be going away anytime soon, and oil prices 
climbed again Thursday to keep the pressure up on inflation. The price for a 
barrel of Brent crude jumped 3.3% to $101.24, continuing its swings on 
uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global oil industry to 
return to normal.

   Further reports also signaled the U.S. economy is powering through its many 
challenges. Fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, 
which could mean fewer layoffs. That followed a report on Wednesday that said 
the U.S. economy's overall growth was even stronger in the spring than earlier 
thought.

   A separate report on Thursday said that growth for U.S. manufacturing also 
continued in September. Potentially more concerning in that report from the 
Institute for Supply Management, though, was that increases in prices 
accelerated, which could further pressure inflation.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 5.32% following the manufacturing 
report, up from 5.29% late Wednesday. That's near its highest level since 2002, 
and it's up from less than 5% roughly a week ago and from less than 4% before 
the war with Iran began.

   On Wall Street, strength for technology stocks helped limit the losses after 
Micron Technology delivered a stronger profit report for the latest quarter 
than analysts expected. The maker of memory chips for computers also said 
growth is strengthening, and it gave forecasts for upcoming profit and revenue 
that topped analysts' estimates.

   CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said it's benefiting from the AI boom, which is driving 
demand for memory.

   Micron's stock fell 3%, which some analysts attributed to how much its stock 
had already jumped before the profit report. It came into the day with a gain 
of more than 270% for the year so far, towering over the less than 12% rise for 
the overall S&P 500.

   But other AI-related stocks benefited from Micron's optimism about continued 
demand related to AI. Nvidia rose 0.6%, and Applied Materials added 3.4%

   Outside of tech, Accenture leaped 23.2% after the consulting and services 
company reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. 
It saw growth around the world, from the Americas to Asia.

   In stock markets abroad, Asian indexes did better than the rest of the world 
thanks to optimism around AI following Micron's profit report. Japan's Nikkei 
225 jumped 3.3%, and South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.9%.