Wall Street’s stock rally persists despite surge in US bond yields

Stocks and bond yields are supposed to move in opposite directions. That’s one of the oldest rules in the investing playbook: when borrowing costs rise, equities get less attractive because safe government bonds start offering competitive returns. Right now, Wall Street is politely ignoring that rule.

The S&P 500 recently closed at a record near 7,209, while the Nasdaq touched approximately 24,892. The S&P just logged its best month since 2020. All of this is happening while the 10-year Treasury yield has climbed from roughly 3.97% to around 4.45%, and the 30-year yield has punched above 5%.

The AI trade is doing the heavy lifting

The iShares Semiconductor ETF gained 2.39%, with names like Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm posting significant increases. When the biggest companies in the index are printing money from a generational technology shift, the usual gravitational pull of bond yields loses some of its force.

The broader economic picture is also cooperating. Robust economic data has given investors enough confidence to stay in risk assets even as borrowing costs rise.

FOMO is a powerful drug

Market sentiment has undergone a dramatic transformation. Earlier this year, the mood was closer to capitulation, with investors bracing for the worst. Now it’s pure fear of missing out.

Under the surface, the picture isn’t as clean as the index levels suggest. Market breadth has been narrowing, meaning fewer stocks are participating in the rally. Volume has also been declining. When a rally is driven by a shrinking number of names on lower participation, it tends to be more fragile than it appears.

Adding to the complexity, traders are now assigning a greater than 30% probability to a Federal Reserve rate hike by December. Not a cut. A hike. Higher inflation readings and elevated oil prices have forced that recalculation.

What this means for crypto and risk assets

Bitcoin and other risk-sensitive assets tend to struggle when bond yields spike because higher yields increase the opportunity cost of holding assets that generate no income. The fact that crypto risk sentiment remains constructive despite the 10-year yield sitting near 4.45% suggests that traders are pricing in continued economic resilience rather than a rate-driven selloff.

The last time this kind of disconnect lasted this long was in late 2023, and it resolved with a sharp bond rally in November and December of that year.

For crypto investors specifically, the key variable is whether the equity rally can maintain its current trajectory. The correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq, while not perfect, has remained sticky enough to matter during stress events.