US stocks slip from record highs as oil and yields climb

On August 6, US stocks pulled back modestly from record territory as rising oil prices and a rebound in long‑term Treasury yields weighed on risk appetite. Higher crude prices revived concerns that inflation could prove sticky, while the uptick in the 10‑year yield reminded investors that easier monetary policy may still be some way off. Roughly 85% of S&P 500 companies have now reported second‑quarter earnings, and overall profit growth is on track to be the strongest since 2021. Even so, with valuations already stretched, many traders argue that "good news is priced in," making it harder for shares to rally on solid results alone. Large US technology names that have spent heavily on artificial‑intelligence infrastructure remain under scrutiny, as markets debate whether revenue and profit will grow fast enough to justify those investments. At the same time, there are signs of rotation into more defensive sectors and high‑dividend shares, suggesting some investors are quietly reducing exposure to the most volatile parts of the market ahead of what is often a choppy month for equities in August.