Update: US Equity Indexes Edge Up as Treasury Yields Fall From Highest in Two Decades After October Fed Rate-Increase Bets Drop

05:24 PM EDT, 10/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes ground higher Thursday as pressure from government bond yields eased after odds favoring a back-to-back monetary policy tightening in October faded. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to 7,666.45, the Nasdaq Composite rose less than 0.1% to 26,871.60, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up less than 0.1% to 50,926.56. Sector moves were evenly spread, with industrials leading while healthcare paced the decliners at the close. The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 54.5 in September from 54.6 in August, compared with the 55.0 forecast in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The S&P Global US manufacturing index for September was revised to 55.9 from the flash reading of 57.0, versus expectations for no revision in a Bloomberg-compiled poll. The 10-year government bond yield dropped 5.4 basis points to 5.24%, after reaching an intraday peak of 5.344%, its highest since 2002. The 30-year rate fell 3.1 basis points to 5.61%, after hitting its strongest level since 2002 earlier in the day. The 2-year yield slumped 10.4 basis points to 4.78%. Traders slashed the near-term probability of the Federal Reserve raising its target rate by 25 basis points in October to 26% from 69% a week ago, data from the CME Fedwatch tool showed Thursday. In company news, Micron Technology (MU) reported a year-over-year jump in fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue, and set out fiscal Q1 guidance above consensus estimates late Wednesday. Still, shares declined 1.9%. Accenture (ACN) reported stronger-than-expected fiscal Q4 results on Thursday, and forecast annual earnings and revenue growth in the fiscal year that just began. Shares surged 16%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. Paramount Skydance (PSKY) CEO David Ellison has asked CNN CEO Mark Thompson to remain in his role after Paramount completes its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Paramount shares sank 9.6%, the S&P 500's worst performer. By the end of November, which is after the US mid-term elections, three aircraft carriers and two landing groups will be deployed around Iran, a US official told Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster. Iran is preparing a broader and more forceful response if the US resumes large-scale military attacks, while continuing a diplomatic push that Iranian officials privately see as unlikely to succeed, unnamed sources told Reuters. Meanwhile, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed four drones launched by Iran-aligned Houthi militant group over the southern part of the Kingdom, Al Jazeera reported. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract jumped 2.8% to $92.98 per barrel, and the global benchmark North Sea Brent advanced 4.5% to $102.40 per barrel.