Broad Wednesday Selloff Hits Space, Industrial and Tech Stocks as Rising Bond Yields and Fed Minutes Weigh on Markets

U.S. equities fell broadly on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, pulling back from record highs set just a day earlier as rising global bond yields and investor caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's September meeting minutes pressured stocks across multiple sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped roughly 500 points, or 0.7%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5%. The Fed's September rate hike minutes were expected to reveal a wider internal debate among policymakers than the unanimous vote suggested, adding uncertainty about the central bank's next policy steps.

Space and defense-adjacent names were among the hardest hit. Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile both slid, retreating from recent sharp run-ups, with no new company-specific catalysts to sustain the gains. GE Vernova and Curtiss-Wright also declined alongside the broader industrial and energy-transition complex.

Agricultural and construction equipment makers saw outsized selling. Caterpillar, Deere and Company, CNH Industrial, and AGCO all fell as investors weighed a deepening downturn in large-scale agricultural equipment demand. The declines echoed earlier warnings from Deere about the severity of the current ag downcycle and a JPMorgan downgrade of CNH Industrial to Underweight.

Among other notable movers, Skydance stock plummeted and CrowdStrike fell on Wednesday. On the positive side, Super Micro Computer traded higher, BKV surged, Glaukos gained, and Halozyme Therapeutics climbed. Safe Pro Group also rose. Bitcoin tumbled more than 3% to around $83,000, dragging down crypto-linked equities including Coinbase, Robinhood, and Strategy.