The Markets at lunch
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said real wages are growing and that the only way for the U.S. to get out of debt is to grow its way out.
Sounds like the administration is relying heavily on economic growth to address the deficit, rather than spending cuts or lower interest rates.
The risk is that higher oil prices and elevated inflation make that growth path more difficult.
WTI crude oil: up $2.14, or 2.56%, at $85.59
Gold: down $25.26, or -0.57%, at $4,428.41
Silver: down $0.18, or -0.27%, at $66.15
In the U.S. debt market, the yield curve is steepening.
Shorter-term yields are modestly lower, while longer-term yields continue to move higher:
2-year: 4.3416%, down 0.8 basis points
5-year: 4.5019%, up 2.0 basis points
10-year: 4.7600%, up 3.8 basis points
30-year: 5.2624%, up 5.4 basis points
U.S. stocks are trading lower, although the major indices are off their lowest levels:
Dow industrial average: down 343.01 points, or -0.64%, at 53,222.33
S&P index: down 36.84 points, or -0.48%, at 7,674.91
NASDAQ composite: down 110.95 points, or -0.42%, at 26,291.47
Russell 2000: down 24.06 points, or -0.81%, at 2,948.31
Bitcoin: near unchanged at $78600