Dow plunges 700 points as surging Treasury yields, Walmart sales shock, 10s -6bp · desk brief, Thu 20 Aug 2026
Treasuries (close 2026-08-19): 2s 4.19% (+0.0bp), 10s 4.65% (-6.0bp), 30s 5.19% (-9.0bp).
Tape (close 2026-08-19): VIX 14.89, 2s10s +46bp.
Narrative: Rick Scott: Trump will have to resume full war with Iran
What mattered:
• Dow plunges 700 points as surging Treasury yields, Walmart sales shock Wall Street
• Scott Bessent Steadied the Bond Market — President Trump’s Iran Threat Wiped It Out in Less Than a Day
• US long-term bonds slide as Bessent intervention fails to soothe investors
• U.S. Treasuries rebound higher across the curve after liquidity support expansion
• RBI’s Hawkish Minutes Rattle Bonds, Put Rate Hikes in Play
- Fed balance sheet $6.75T, -$14.3B w/w — QT run-off continues
- 30-Year TIPS auction: STRONG
- 8-Week (2-month) Bill auction: STRONG
- 4-Week (1-month) Bill auction: IN LINE
- EIA Natural Gas Storage Change: 16.0B
- Cleveland Fed inflation nowcast: Q3 CPI 1.2% · core CPI 1.9% · PCE 2.3% · core PCE 2.9%
- Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey: 47.4
- Continuing Jobless Claims: 1.80M
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