Bessent Says US Will Intensify Economic Pressure on Iran

U.S. stock futures were higher on Friday, as the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices rose, following Thursday’s higher close. Treasury yields pulled back from multi-decade highs Thursday, with a rout in semiconductor stocks sending investors into government bonds, according to The Kobeissi Letter. The 10-year Treasury yield traded around 5.085% Thursday, down from a 24-year high of 5.36% last week, while the 30-year was at 5.429%, down from 5.73%, its highest level since 2002.

Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would intensify economic pressure on Iran, writing that “The noose is tightening around Iran’s economy,” as a naval blockade curbs oil exports and the rial tumbles; Reuters reported Iran’s seaborne crude exports fell to zero in the second week of September and remained at zero as of Oct. 5. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 5.10%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.74%, at the last check.

The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in an 85.1% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged after its October meeting. Index Performance (+/-) Dow Jones 0.28% S&P 500 0.20% Nasdaq 100 0.07% Russell 2000 0.31% The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY ) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket trading on Friday. The SPY was up 0.24% at $773.67, while the QQQ advanced 0.13% to $728.98. Read Also: Stock Market: Will S&P 500 Open Up or Down Today?

Stocks In Focus Interactive Brokers Group Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR ) was 1.14% lower in premarket trading on Friday after it reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $0.67 per share on revenue of $1.91 billion after the closing bell on Thursday, compared with estimates of $0.68 per share and $1.89 billion. ’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that IBKR maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a positive trend in the long term, with a strong growth score. JB Hunt Transport Services JB Hunt Transport Services Inc.

(NASDAQ: JBHT ) slipped 1.33% as it missed expectations with earnings of $1.82 per share on revenue of $3.68 billion after the closing bell on Thursday, compared with estimates of $1.90 per share and $3.58 billion. ’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that JBHT maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate quality score. Alcoa Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA ) was 2.13% higher in premarket trading on Friday after it reported mixed third-quarter 2026 earnings of $1.82 per share on revenue of $3.70 billion after the closing bell on Thursday, compared with estimates of $1.47 per share and $3.79 billion.

’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AA maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong value score. Tesla Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA ) was 4.36% higher in premarket trading on Friday as it officially unveiled the awaited Roadster high-performance vehicle, showing off the car’s hovering capabilities powered by thrusters from Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX ).

’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSLA maintains a positive price trend in the short term but a negative trend in the medium and long terms, with a poor value score. CoreWeave CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV ) sank 4.09% in premarket trading on Friday as its bonds hit a 15% yield and Gartner said neclouds may face impairment losses by 2030. ’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CRWV maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor momentum score.

Read Also: Anthropic IPO Could Come in ‘Weeks, Not Months’ — Top Hedge Fund Manager Sees $500 Billion Demand, Draws Parallels With SpaceX Cues From Last Session Health care, materials and consumer discretionary led on Thursday, while energy, information technology and utilities lagged. U.S. stocks closed higher, with the Dow gained over 500 points.

Index Performance (+/-) Value Dow Jones 1.08% 52,177.69 S&P 500 0.33% 7,744.06 Nasdaq Composite 0.08% 26,713.02 Russell 2000 1.38% 2,767.27 Insights From Analysts Brian Rehling, co-head of global fixed income and digital asset strategy at Wells Fargo, said bond investors should look past near-term volatility, arguing that higher yields can hurt prices in the short term but improve income and future return potential.

He wrote that one of the most important drivers of future bond returns is the yield available when you invest, adding, “today’s setback may improve the outlook for future returns.” Rehling also said repositioning differs from exiting the bond market, noting, “Repositioning isn’t the same as getting out,” and said his team continues to favor shorter maturities because they are less sensitive to rising rates and allow investors to reinvest sooner at higher yields. He also pointed to tax-loss-harvesting opportunities for taxable accounts when bond positions trade below purchase price. Upcoming Economic Data Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday.

September’s import prices data will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET. September’s industrial production and capacity utilization data will be out by 9:15 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.98% to hover around $97.01 per barrel. Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.70% to hover around $4,184.82 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.27% lower at the 101.7743 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was up 0.9% over the last 24 hours, hovering at $82,100 per coin. Asian markets were higher on Friday, as Australia’s ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50, South Korea’s Kospi, China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices rose. European markets were higher in early trading. Read Also: CRWV, NBIS, IREN in Focus: Gartner Warns 80% of Neoclouds Will 'Cease Independent Operations' by 2030 Photo courtesy: Shutterstock