Dow rises 230 points after Treasury doubles bond buybacks

Dow rises 230 points after Treasury doubles bond buybacks

Wed, August 19, 2026 at 4:39 PM GMT+3 2 min read

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday after the Treasury Department said it would at least double the size of its government debt repurchases, sending long-dated Treasury yields lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 230 points, or 0.4%, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each posting gains of 0.4%.

The expanded buyback program targets bonds with maturities of 10 to 20 years and 20 to 30 years. The 30-year Treasury yield settled at 5.196%, a decline of roughly 9 basis points, while the 10-year note yield eased 6 basis points to 4.647%. The 30-year yield had reached a 19-year high above 5.33% on Tuesday.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the Treasury said it does not intend to use the repurchases to mitigate episodes of acute market stress.

Moderna stock stood out as the session's standout gainer, jumping more than 80% after data from a late-stage study of an experimental cancer vaccine co-developed with Merck came back positive. Merck shares advanced more than 7%, lending a lift to the Dow in the process.

Marvell Technology stock climbed more than 12% after the chipmaker disclosed a partnership with Google centered on tensor processing units, under which Google was granted a warrant entitling it to acquire approximately 59 million shares of Marvell common stock.

The gains come after a difficult stretch for U.S. equities. The S&P 500 recorded its third consecutive decline on Tuesday amid a global sovereign-debt selloff, according to CNBC. Japan's 10-year yield touched a three-decade peak, France's 30-year rate rose to levels last seen in 2008, and the German 30-year bund reached its highest mark since 2011.

Fading expectations that the U.S. and Iran could reach a deal also weighed on sentiment, with the uncertainty helping drive global oil prices above $90 a barrel, according to The Wall Street Journal. Brent crude traded at $91.32.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting are due out Wednesday afternoon. The July meeting produced three dissenting votes in favor of raising rates, and investors are expected to scrutinize the minutes for detail on the divisions among rate-setters.