No. 59

Latest close: Fri, Nov 6

DiurnaFinance

The daily record of markets & money

Morning BriefNo. 57

10-year yield rises to 4.95%; S&P 500 rises as the Dow lags

In Tuesday's session, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.8%, gold settled at $3,940.40 an ounce, and WTI crude fell to $96.09 a barrel.

Stocks

The S&P 500 advanced 0.36% to 7,568.92. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 0.83%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.38% to 51,786.72.

The S&P 500 has gained 10.6% so far in 2026 and stands 3.2% below its record close of 7,818.93, set on October 6, 2026. The Cboe Volatility Index, which tracks expected swings in the S&P 500 over the next 30 days, retreated to 20.83, above its long-run average of about 19.4.

Rates

The 10-year Treasury yield rose 4 basis points to 4.95%. The 2-year yield, which tracks expectations for the Fed's policy path more closely, edged up 2 basis points to 4.61%. At the long end, the 30-year yield moved up to 5.32%.

That left the 10-year yield 34 basis points above the 2-year. Freddie Mac's latest weekly survey put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.24% (October 29). The 3-month Treasury bill yielded 4.21%.

U.S. Treasury yield curveYield by maturity
November 3, 2026One month earlier (Oct 2)One year earlier (Nov 3)

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Currencies

The euro retreated 0.33% to $1.1179 in the European Central Bank's daily reference rates, while the dollar edged up 0.25% against the yen to ¥158.29 and the British pound edged down to $1.3411. Overall, the dollar strengthened against six of the nine major currencies we track. The biggest move came from the Mexican peso, which rose 0.66% against the dollar. The euro has lost 4.9% against the dollar this year.

Commodities and bitcoin

U.S. crude oil (WTI) eased 0.4% to $96.09 a barrel, while Brent, the international benchmark, fell 1.1% to $103.60 a barrel.

U.S. natural gas futures advanced 1.4% to $2.895 per million British thermal units. Gold lost ground 0.7% to $3,940.40 an ounce, and silver slid 2.2% to $49.75 an ounce. Copper, often watched as a barometer of industrial demand, fell 2.5% to $6.402 a pound.

Bitcoin edged down 0.2% to $76,934.

On the calendar

No major U.S. economic releases are scheduled today.

Coming up

  • Fri Nov 68:30 a.m.Jobs report (Employment Situation)Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Tue Nov 108:30 a.m.Consumer Price Index (CPI)Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Fri Nov 138:30 a.m.Producer Price Index (PPI)Bureau of Labor Statistics

Chart of the day

Job openings (JOLTS)7.19 million · August 2026

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job openings declined to 7.19 million in August from 7.34 million in the prior month. That is up from 6.92 million a year earlier. Over the past 8 years it has ranged from 4.61 million (April 2020) to 12.30 million (March 2022).

What it measures. The number of unfilled positions that employers are actively recruiting for, from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

Why it matters. Openings measure the demand side of the labor market. Comparing them with the number of unemployed people shows how tight or loose hiring conditions are.

The numbers

InstrumentLastChg%YTD52-wk range
Stocks
S&P 500 7,568.92 +27.52 +0.36% +10.6%
Nasdaq Composite 25,372.01 +207.65 +0.83% +9.2%
Dow Jones Industrial Average 51,786.72 −197.26 −0.38% +7.7%
Russell 2000 2,812.45 +6.57 +0.23% +13.3%
Cboe Volatility Index 20.83 −0.32 −1.51% +39.3%
Treasury yields
3-month Treasury bill 4.21% 0 bp — +54 bp
2-year Treasury 4.61% +2 bp — +114 bp
5-year Treasury 4.74% +4 bp — +101 bp
10-year Treasury 4.95% +4 bp — +77 bp
30-year Treasury 5.32% +4 bp — +48 bp
Currencies
Euro (EUR/USD) $1.1179 −0.0037 −0.33% −4.9%
Japanese yen (USD/JPY) ¥158.29 +0.39 +0.25% +1.0%
British pound (GBP/USD) $1.3411 −0.0009 −0.06% −0.4%
Chinese yuan (USD/CNY) 6.6723 +0.0240 +0.36% −4.7%
Canadian dollar (USD/CAD) 1.3975 +0.0001 +0.01% +2.1%
Swiss franc (USD/CHF) 0.8199 +0.0003 +0.04% +3.4%
Australian dollar (AUD/USD) $0.6984 −0.0024 −0.35% +4.5%
Mexican peso (USD/MXN) 18.5974 −0.1223 −0.65% +3.5%
Commodities
WTI crude oil $96.09 −0.37 −0.38% +67.3%
Brent crude oil $103.60 −1.17 −1.12% +70.3%
Natural gas $2.895 +0.039 +1.37% −21.5%
Gold $3,940.40 −29.20 −0.74% −9.2%
Silver $49.75 −1.13 −2.23% −29.3%
Copper $6.402 −0.165 −2.52% +13.3%
Digital assets
Bitcoin $76,934 −127 −0.17% −12.3%

Closing levels for November 3, 2026. Yields in percent; changes in basis points (bp). Currencies are ECB reference rates. Commodities are front-month futures settlements.

Worth reading

Selected coverage from other publishers, chosen for relevance to today's markets.

  1. 10-year Treasury yield slides as traders mull over Democrats' midterm victories, oil prices dropCNBC
  2. Mortgage rates drop for the third straight week, but homebuyers are still leaving the marketCNBC
  3. US stocks rise, dollar slides as investors digest Democrats’ midterm victoriesThe Guardian
  4. CVS to break up $117 billion business, separating pharmacies from insurance; shares fallInvesting.com
  5. These 12 stocks are good bets to beat the 10-year Treasury over the next decadeMarketWatch
  6. European shares jump over 1% after Democrats sweep US Congress, Novo Nordisk surgesInvesting.com

Diurna briefs are compiled from official and exchange data by our publishing system using fixed editorial rules; they describe market moves and do not speculate about causes. This is not investment advice. How we produce the Daily Brief.