NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are pulling back from their record on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 fell 0.5% in early trading, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 460 points, or 0.9%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% lower.
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FILE - A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
FILE - Options trader Anthony Spina, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Commuters emerge from a Wall Street subway station in New York's Financial District on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A currency trader passes by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Stocks felt pressure as yields climbed in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 5.35% from 5.27% late Tuesday, near its highest level since 2002, and higher yields put downward pressure on prices for stocks and other investments. They can also slow the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money.
Yields rose as oil prices ticked higher in their latest swing amid uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the industry to return to normal. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, added 1.5% to $102.10. That’s well above its $72 price from before the war began, though it’s not as high as the nearly $110 it was scraping last month.
Also pushing up on bond yields worldwide are worries about how much debt the U.S. and other governments have racked up, and how much more they add to it by the day.
The head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that all kinds of countries must take faster action to cut debt, as well as to counter growing inequality.
“Some very tough political choices stare us in the face,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech in Singapore ahead of autumn IMF-World Bank meetings to be held in Bangkok next week.
“My message to the world’s economic policymakers next week will be this: we cannot keep delaying necessary policy action — you have the tools, now have the wisdom to use them,” she said.
On Wall Street, Worthington Steel fell 7.4% after the metals processing and manufacturing company reported weaker results for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
The pressure is on companies to continue to deliver big growth in profits. Such strength would help to support stock prices when the other big lever that affects stock prices, interest rates, is pushing downward.
Analysts have high expectations for this upcoming earnings reporting season. They’re forecasting growth in earnings per share of nearly 30%, according to FactSet. If companies fall short of that bar, stock prices could easily fall further from their record heights.
Constellation Brands added 1.4% after the seller of Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wine reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But its gain was restrained after it also gave a forecasted range for profit over its full fiscal year whose midpoint was below what analysts expected.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia.
The CAC 40 index in Paris dropped 1.1% as yields on French bonds got back to jumping amid worries about the government’s debt and strained budget. Protests across France have raised pressure on the government to increase spending.
South Korea’s Kospi fell even more, 2%, following a sharp loss for SK Hynix, one of its two dominant stocks.
AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
FILE - A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
FILE - Options trader Anthony Spina, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Commuters emerge from a Wall Street subway station in New York's Financial District on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A currency trader passes by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
There's a race to the bottom of the NFL standings four games into the season, including some surprisingly winless teams.
A record-tying five teams are 0-4 one month in, marking just the seventh time that has happened in NFL history and the first since 2019.
Some of the winless teams aren't too surprising, with Miami there as part of a rebuild in a season when the Dolphins are carrying a record $184 million in dead money charges on the salary cap. Tennessee is winless after back-to-back three-win seasons.
The other winless teams are a bit more of a surprise: Tampa Bay is there after coming into the season as the favorite to win the NFC South, while Houston and the Los Angeles Chargers are 0-4 after making the playoffs last season.
This is just the third time in NFL history that two teams started a season 0-4 after making the playoffs the previous season. It also happened in 1999 with defending conference champions Atlanta and Denver doing it, and in 1992 with the Los Angeles Raiders and New York Jets both starting 0-4.
The Buccaneers have lost four one-score games, with their minus-20 point differential the fifth-best ever for an 0-4 team, and the best since Minnesota was outscored by 19 points over the first four games in 2011.
The Chargers haven't been nearly as competitive, getting outscored by 39 points for the second-worst point differential in the league so far.
The start for the Texans has been frustrating because they have led in the final 2 minutes in three of the four losses, including a 34-30 loss to Dallas on Sunday when the Cowboys scored the winning touchdown with 40 seconds to play.
They are the second team since at least 1991 to lose three times in the first four games after leading in the final 2 minutes. The Chargers did it in 2016. The only other teams in the Super Bowl era to start the season 0-4 despite leading at any point in the fourth quarter in three of the games were the 2013 Bucs and 2011 Vikings.
C.J. Stroud is the first quarterback since 1950, when starts were first tracked, to lose the first four games of a season without throwing an interception.
Three teams have started the season 4-0, with Kansas City and Minnesota doing it after missing the playoffs in 2025. The last time two teams started 4-0 after missing the playoffs was 2013, when the Chiefs and New Orleans did it.
Signing away the reigning Super Bowl MVP hasn't worked so well in the past. It couldn't be going better for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kenneth Walker III has transformed Kansas City's offense since leaving Seattle in free agency in March. His 537 yards rushing are the most for any player through four games since Arian Foster had 539 yards in 2010.
Walker rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-27 win over Las Vegas on Sunday, making him the fourth player to have at least 175 yards from scrimmage in three of the first four games of a season. Christian McCaffrey did it in 2019, Billy Sims as a rookie for Detroit in 1980 and Jim Brown in 1963. Sims is the only other player to do it in his first four games with a franchise.
Walker already has six runs of at least 20 yards this season — doubling Kansas City's total for all of 2025.
His performance is far different from the other three Super Bowl MVPs who changed teams immediately after winning the award.
Larry Brown had one interception in 12 games over two seasons with the Raiders after winning Super Bowl MVP for Dallas following the 1995 season. Brown was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team in 1997 and then was cut.
The Raiders signed Desmond Howard in 1997 after he won the award for Green Bay. Howard caught six passes and had two punt return TDs in two seasons for Oakland.
Dexter Jackson fared better after leaving Tampa Bay for Arizona, with six interceptions in 2003, but he was cut the following year.
The NFL came close to setting a record for penalties last week, with the 271 accepted infractions the second most in any week in league history. The highest was 298 in Week 2 of the 2015 season.
There were an average of 16.9 penalties per game in Week 4 for the second-highest mark since 2000.
The biggest culprit was the game Sunday between the Chargers and Seattle when there were 30 accepted penalties for 280 yards, including seven personal fouls against the Seahawks. Three other games had at least 20 accepted penalties last week.
In all, the average of 15 penalties per game rank fourth highest since 2000 through four weeks and the highest since it was at 15.3 in 2015.
There have been noticeable increases this season in offensive holding, false starts and defensive holding compared with last season.
There is a large disparity between teams. Green Bay and Cleveland are both averaging more than 10 accepted penalties a game, while San Francisco and Indianapolis have had less than five.
Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here.
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Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker (9) dives to score a touchdown past Las Vegas Raiders safety Treydan Stukes (31) during the second half of an NFL football game in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) walks off the field after the team's loss in an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis, left, and punter Bradley Pinion leave the field following an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin Ng)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud looks to the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Houston, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
