Treasury yields spike again as investors debate Fed’s next move

A man puts his hand to his face as he swivels his chair away from his monitors on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Credit: Michael Nagle—Bloomberg/Getty Images)

• It’s been rough for most Americans’ 401(k)s since Trump unveiled his chart of reciprocal tariffs in the Rose Garden last week. The initial decline in the benchmark 10-year yield might have offered hope to homebuyers and sellers yearning for lower mortgage rates, but rates have remained elevated. The average fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage is still above 6.6%.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs sparked chaos in the stock market, but bonds have also been on a wild ride. Amid one of Wall Street’s worst equity selloffs in recent history, investors piled into safe-haven assets like Treasuries last week, but the apparent reversal of that trade means the ultimate impact on mortgages and other common borrowing costs for Americans remains unclear.