The Midday Tape

Stocks are on the back foot at midday as a bond market gone haywire overshadows another round of AI headlines, leaving traders to choose between chasing mega-cap momentum or ducking a Treasury rout that has yields at levels unseen since the housing bubble.

The bond market is the story.

The 10-year yield touched a session high of 5.1685%, the highest print since July 2007, before settling near 5.166%, up better than 5 basis points. The 30-year and 20-year followed higher after a Treasury buyback announcement, and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) slid to a fresh record low. That's the rates backdrop pressuring risk assets broadly: the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) is off 0.5%, the Nasdaq-tracking QQQ down 0.7%, and small caps via the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) down 0.9%, underperforming as rate sensitivity bites. Jobless claims came in at 197,000 and new home sales jumped 6.4% month over month, data that's done nothing to calm the yield spike. Oil is the other macro outlier, with the U.S. Oil Fund (USO) up over 4% as Houthi strikes on Saudi military sites in Jazan and Petrobras' CEO touting a push toward 3 million barrels a day keep a geopolitical bid under crude.

AI leadership is fraying at the edges.

Meta Platforms (META) is bucking the tape, up more than 3% after JPMorgan lifted its price target to $920. Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) is modestly higher on the back of the Gemini 3.8 enterprise launch and word that its Project Suncatcher space data center initiative is moving its timeline up to October 1. But Nvidia (NVDA) is down over 1%, and a Senate push to force AI companies into more disclosure is circulating as a fresh regulatory overhang across the group, from Microsoft and Meta to Baidu and Snap. The AI trade isn't broken, but it's no longer moving in lockstep.

Single-name dispersion is wide.

BlackBerry (BB) raised its full-year outlook again this morning. General Mills (GIS) posted a Q1 beat, though analysts flag more work ahead. Boeing (BA) is down over 1.5% despite a fresh demand headline, weighed by weak technicals and a looming union vote. Cruise lines are splitting: Royal Caribbean (RCL) up 1.5% on a JPMorgan target hike to $394, while Norwegian (NCLH) slips as JPMorgan and Truist both trim targets. McDonald's (MCD) is up over 1% on its push toward a 98% franchise mix by 2030. Bitcoin proxies including MicroStrategy (MSTR) and its leveraged ETFs are surging. Rivian (RIVN) is halted, AMC is sliding, and Blue Owl (OWL) is dipping on a force majeure payment notice tied to Oracle.

Still ahead this afternoon:

Costco (COST) reports after the close in the session's marquee print, and traders will keep watching the long end of the curve for any follow-through past that 2007 yield marker.

Bottom line: this is a bond-led risk-off tape with pockets of AI and consumer strength fighting the rate tide, not a broad capitulation.