Yemeni gov't forces claim recapture of Bab al-Mandab Strait, Mocha, push toward Houthi-held capital

Yemeni government forces said Monday they had seized the critical Bab al-Mandab Strait and Red Sea port of Mocha from the Houthis, while launching a "strategic offensive" toward Sanaa, the capital the group has held for over a decade.

The government said the advance was part of its "Dawn of Yemen" operation, a broader offensive begun earlier that day aimed at retaking Houthi-held territory, with Saudi Arabia providing extensive air support.

A military source was quoted by the state-run Saba news agency as saying that the Nation's Shield forces, the pro-government Giants Brigades and the Tihama Resistance, backed by airstrikes, entered Mocha of southwestern Taiz province after fierce fighting on the city's outskirts.

The source said an unspecified number of Houthi fighters were killed, wounded or captured in the fighting, while others fled. The Houthis have not yet responded.

Mocha is about 80 kilometers from the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping lane and trade gateway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Earlier Monday, Majid al-Nuzaili, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said government troops had also captured Dhubab airport, where some Houthi fighters, after being besieged, were fleeing by boat while hundreds remained trapped.

However, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, citing a military source within the group, denied the reported government advances toward Dhubab on Monday, dismissing them as "completely false" and accusing Saudi media of seeking to cover up battlefield setbacks. The Houthis stressed that fighting for control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait was still continuing.

Also on Monday, Yemeni government forces announced that they had begun a "strategic offensive" on another front toward Sanaa City, which has been controlled by the Houthis since 2014. According to a media website under the Yemeni Defense Ministry, government forces launched a "large-scale offensive" against Houthi positions on multiple front lines in Marib, about 170 kilometers east of Sanaa, and made progress. The military operation inflicted heavy losses on the Houthis.

Al-Masirah TV reported the same day that Saudi airstrikes targeting Sanaa region had killed one person and wounded two others.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said around 100 fighter jets were supporting the "Dawn of Yemen" operation and had destroyed 324 Houthi targets. Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said they were providing round-the-clock aerial support to Yemeni government forces on the ground and air cover for the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Yemen's conflict broke out in late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country's north, forcing the internationally recognized government out of the capital. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the government. The recent clashes marked the sharpest escalation since a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities in the war-torn country.

Yemeni gov't forces claim recapture of Bab al-Mandab Strait, Mocha, push toward Houthi-held capital

U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, as strength in artificial intelligence and technology stocks overcame a renewed surge in Treasury yields to 24-year highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.94 points, or 0.18 percent, to 51,267.90. The S and P 500 added 51.23 points, or 0.66 percent, to 7,773.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 286.45 points, or 1.05 percent, to 27,477.31, notching a record closing high.

Ten of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in the green, with materials and communication services leading the gainers by adding 1.22 percent and 1.14 percent, respectively. Real estate bucked the trend, losing 0.44 percent.

U.S. Treasury yields climbed back toward multidecade highs on Monday. The benchmark 10-year yield settled at 5.31 percent, its highest close since April 2002, after trading above 5.35 percent intraday. The 30-year yield rose 3.5 basis points to 5.66 percent, its highest settlement since May 2002. The two-year yield stood at 4.83 percent.

Oil prices fell as traders weighed the Group of Seven's agreement to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel from emergency reserves, alongside recovering Middle East exports. The West Texas Intermediate for November delivery decreased by 1.68 U.S. dollars, or 1.84 percent, to settle at 89.43 dollars a barrel. Brent crude for December delivery lost 1.93 dollars, or 1.89 percent, to settle at 100.32 dollars a barrel.

On the corporate front, Nvidia rose more than 2 percent to a record high for the second straight session, remaining the world's most valuable public company. PTC soared 33.49 percent, the S and P 500's best performer, after Schneider Electric agreed to acquire it at 205 dollars per share in a 22.6-billion-dollar all-cash deal, a 42.3 percent premium. By contrast, Schneider fell nearly 10 percent.

SpaceX jumped over 7.5 percent after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an overweight rating and a 300-dollar target. Western Digital climbed over 6 percent and Seagate gained about 4.5 percent, rebounding from Friday's plunge on a Toshiba capacity report. Cerebras gained 9.08 percent after OpenAI's Sam Altman called it a "close partner."

On the economic front, the ISM services index for September came in at 54.9, down from 55.4 in August and roughly in line with expectations. Traders see about a 24 percent chance of a rate hike at the Fed's October meeting, down from 71 percent a week ago, according to CME FedWatch.

U.S. stocks close higher despite surging Treasury yields