Dow Jones and Nasdaq Down: Why Falling Oil Prices and Rising Treasury Yields Weigh on Tech Stocks

On Monday, September 28, 2026, US stock markets recorded significant losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.71 percent or 366.36 points to 51,462.26 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost up to 1.18 percent, while the S&P 500 declined between 0.5 and 0.8 percent. The main pressure factor was rising Treasury yields, which particularly weighed on technology and growth stocks.

Treasury Yields at Multi-Year Highs

The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds exceeded 5.2 percent on September 28, 2026, and reached as high as 5.27 percent at times – an increase of 11 basis points. The yield on 30-year bonds climbed above 5.5 percent. According to several market reports, both yields were in ranges last seen years ago.

Rising yields have a disproportionate impact on growth stocks, as their valuation depends heavily on future cash flows. A higher discount rate reduces the present value of these future earnings – an effect market participants refer to as the duration mechanism. Technology stocks with high valuation multiples are particularly affected.

Oil Prices with Volatile Movements

Parallel to the yield movements, crude oil prices rose significantly. WTI crude oil increased by 2.40 percent to $94.63 per barrel, Brent crude climbed by 2.65 percent to $107.08 per barrel. At times, oil prices traded above $106. Uncertainty in the Middle East led to risk premiums, even as prices recovered somewhat in the short term.

The combination of rising yields and higher oil prices intensified the burden on the technology sector. While higher energy costs raise input costs for companies, the macroeconomic environment further strained market sentiment.

Tech Stocks with Significant Losses

Technology stocks recorded disproportionate declines on September 28, 2026. Advanced Micro Devices lost around 5 percent, Micron Technology declined about 4 percent. Amazon and Microsoft also came under pressure. The price reactions were macro-driven and did not correlate with company-specific announcements.

Nvidia was an exception: the stock stood out from the general downtrend after the company announced another major share buyback. Multiple sources mentioned a buyback volume of $150 billion, which supported the stock.

Sectoral Differences in the Market

While megacap tech stocks and consumer stocks led the declines, software stocks showed offsetting trends. Some software stocks gained against the general downtrend. Gold and silver markets also came under pressure, indicating broader risk-averse sentiment.

The market mechanics illustrated how macroeconomic factors can override the perception of individual companies. Regardless of company-specific announcements, yield-driven valuation adjustments dominated price movements.

Recovery on Tuesday

On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, the Nasdaq Composite recovered 0.4 percent. Treasury yields and oil prices pulled back somewhat, providing relief to the technology sector. The volatility of recent days demonstrated the strong dependence of tech stocks on macroeconomic variables.

The developments of the week from September 23-29, 2026 fit into a recurring pattern: Already in May 2026, similar constellations of rising yields and oil prices had pressured the Nasdaq, while the Dow Jones remained relatively stable.