Morning Market Brief - 2026-05-04

May 04, 2026 at 07:51 ET

Morning Market Brief - 2026-05-04

The U.S. Treasury yield curve has recently experienced a notable steepening, with the 10-year Treasury yield rising to 4.4% and the 2-year yield at 3.88%, resulting in a spread of 0.52 percentage points. This shift from the previous inversion, where short-term rates exceeded long-term rates, suggests a market expectation of future rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Historically, such yield curve inversions have been associated with recessionary signals, but the current steepening may indicate a return to economic normalization. (dws.com)

U.S. Indices

Major U.S. stock indices closed mixed on Friday, May 1, 2026. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) ended at $720.65, up 0.28%, while the Dow Jones ETF (DIA) closed at $495.02, down 0.33%. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) rose 0.96% to $674.15, and the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gained 0.47%, closing at $279.28. The Total Market ETF (VTI) increased by 0.31% to $355.29.

Top Movers

Top Gainers:

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX): Shares surged 7.91% to $726.93.
Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM): Increased by 6.47% to $103.44.
Oracle Corporation (ORCL): Rose 6.47% to $171.83.
Intel Corporation (INTC): Gained 5.44%, closing at $99.62.
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU): Advanced 4.84% to $542.21.

Top Losers:

LKQ Corporation (LKQ): Declined 9.72% to $28.51.
Stryker Corporation (SYK): Fell 6.47% to $294.73.
Amgen Inc. (AMGN): Dropped 4.75% to $329.82.
ResMed Inc. (RMD): Decreased 4.11% to $205.02.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY): Lost 3.91%, closing at $58.22.

Global Markets

Europe:

FTSE 100 (UK): Closed at 10,363.90, down 0.14%.
DAX (Germany): Ended at 24,263.71, a decrease of 0.12%.
CAC 40 (France): Finished at 8,031.50, down 1.03%.
Euro Stoxx 50: Closed at 5,818.10, a decline of 1.08%.

Asia:

Nikkei 225 (Japan): Closed at 59,513.12, up 0.38%.
Hang Seng (Hong Kong): Ended at 26,095.88, an increase of 1.24%.
Shanghai Composite (China): Finished at 4,112.16, up 0.11%.
TSX Composite (Canada): Closed at 33,891.20, down 0.22%.

Commodities

Energy:

- WTI Crude Oil: Rose 3.47% to $105.48.

- Brent Crude: Increased 3.68% to $112.15.

- Natural Gas: Gained 1.01% to $2.81.

Precious Metals:

- Gold: Decreased 1.38% to $4,566.10.

- Silver: Fell 3.13% to $73.57.

- Platinum: Dropped 2.27% to $1,951.20.

Industrial Metals:

- Copper: Declined 0.72% to $5.89.

Money Market / Rates Curve

Federal Funds Rate: 3.64%
SOFR (Overnight): 3.66%
6-Month T-Bill: 3.71%
10-Year TIPS Real Yield: 1.94%

Macro and FX

VIX: 16.89
10-Year Treasury Yield: 4.4%
2-Year Treasury Yield: 3.88%
10Y-2Y Spread: 0.52 percentage points
DXY (Dollar Index): 98.41
Fed Funds Rate: 3.64%

Crypto

Bitcoin (BTC-USD): $78,758.63, up 0.28%
Ethereum (ETH-USD): $2,333.96, up 0.53%

Morning Market Brief - 2026-05-04