Bitcoin Tops $80,000, S&P 500 Slips as Yields Reclaim 5%: Stock Market Today

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) punched through $80,000 on Friday, driving a rally in crypto equities even as broader markets stalled under rising bond yields. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid delivered a hawkish signal, defending rate hikes against sticky, broad-based inflation above 3%. Bond yields spiked in response: The 10-year Treasury note surging 7 basis points back to 5%. The 2-year yield rose 7 basis points to 4.75% The 30-year climbed 4 basis points to 5.34%. Energy Prices Offer Rare Bit of Relief West Texas Intermediate crude eased 0.4% to $101.50 a barrel and Brent slipped 0.5% to $104.26, extending a mid-week retreat even as supply concerns tied to Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East stayed live. Natural gas moved the other way, adding 0.8% to $2.92 per MMBtu, keeping the energy inflation story on the table. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 7,621.16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 222 points, or 0.4%, to 51,555.73. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) was the heaviest weight on the blue-chip index, falling 3%. The Nasdaq 100 was the most resilient of the majors, hovering just below the flatline at 29,425.62. The Russell 2000 was the clear laggard again, down 0.9% to 2,848.24 and now off 3.7% for September. Gold firmed as the pullback in crude eased near-term inflation anxiety, with spot bullion up 0.4% to $4,358 an ounce and the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) gaining 0.4%. Silver outpaced it, rising 1.6% to $66.24. Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices IndexLast% ChangeMTDYTDS&P 5007,621.16-0.2%-0.9%+11.3%Dow Jones51,555.73-0.4%-3.1%+7.3%Nasdaq 10029,425.62-0.1%-0.1%+16.5%Russell 20002,848.24-0.9%-3.7%+14.8%Updated by 12:15 p.m. ET According to the Benzinga Pro platform: The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) fell 0.2%. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) slid 0.7%. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) edged down 0.1%. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) dropped 0.9%. Materials, Solar Lead Sector Drag As Chips Buck Trend The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) rose 0.2%, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) essentially flat behind it. The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) was the worst performer, down 1.5%, followed by the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU), both off 1.1%. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) shed 0.2% as banks and asset managers traded in the red on the back-up in yields. At the industry level, the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (NYSE:XME) was the day’s biggest casualty, down 2.3%, with the Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN) off 2.2% and the VanEck Agribusiness ETF (NYSE:MOO) down 1.7%. Semiconductors bucked the tape, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) up 0.6% and the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS) adding 0.2%. The chip rebound was led by equipment names, with Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ:LRCX) up 5.1%, Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) up 4.1% and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) adding 1.4%, recovering some ground lost when AI security concerns prompted investors to reconsider the pace of datacenter spending. Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) rose 7.3% on the memory bid. AI hyperscalers went the other way on their debt issuance spree, with Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) down 3.3%. The Session’s Dominant Story Sits Outside Sector Map Bitcoin extended a roughly 5% weekly advance, after the Securities and Exchange Commission granted an innovation exemption enabling trading in tokenized stocks. Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) surged 12.9% to $149.25 as the most levered listed proxy on the token, and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (AMEX:BMNR) climbed 7.4% on the same digital-asset treasury trade. The exchanges and brokers rode the same wave. Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) jumped 10.6% to $192.32 on volumes and the SEC tokenization exemption, while Bullish (NYSE:BLSH) added 7.4%, extending Thursday’s gains on the same ruling. Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) rose 7.7% to $118.22, with analysts this week raising targets on accelerating Robinhood Chain fee growth and expanding prediction-market volumes. Galaxy Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GLXY) gained 7.6%. The pain was concentrated in steel and speculative growth. Nucor Corp. (NYSE:NUE) sank 6% after guiding third-quarter earnings to $5.55-$5.65 per diluted share late Thursday, well short of the roughly $6.20 analysts were modeling, with weaker raw materials pricing and shipments offsetting higher steel mill realizations. Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) slid alongside it on its own soft guide. Space Gives Back Recent Gains AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) fell 7.1% to $58.26 and Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) dropped 5.4% to $64.17, with Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) down 4% alongside them. IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) fell 5.6% to $38.07, another high-beta casualty of the rotation out of long-duration speculative growth as real yields pushed higher. QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the odd name out in a rising semiconductor tape, sliding 5.8% to $177.70. The move follows a roughly 18% one-month run built on the company’s multi-generational AI datacenter collaboration with Amazon announced Sept. 8, and looks like profit-taking against the Apple modem revenue cliff still ahead. General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) also fell 5.1% as record-high diesel prices pressure demand for full-size pickups and SUVs that generate the bulk of GM’s margin. Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers Name% changeStrategy Inc.+12.85%Coinbase Global, Inc.+10.55%Robinhood Markets, Inc.+7.66%Bullish+7.38%Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc.+7.35% Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers Name% changeAST SpaceMobile, Inc.-7.10%Nucor Corporation-5.95%QUALCOMM Incorporated-5.83%IonQ, Inc.-5.62%Rocket Lab Corporation-5.39% Image: Shutterstock