Global Bond Yield Rout Reaches Multi-Decade Highs; ADP Shows Private Hiring Slowing Sharply to 38,000

The global government bond selloff that began Monday accelerated Wednesday, pushing borrowing costs to multi-decade highs across major economies: the US 10-year Treasury yield touched 4.814% intraday, its highest since November 2023; Japan's 10-year JGB yield held above 3% for the first time in roughly 30 years; Germany's 10-year Bund reached 3.375%, its highest since 2011; and UK 10-year gilts extended a post-2008 high to 5.25%. The rout was driven by renewed US-Iran hostilities near the Strait of Hormuz keeping oil elevated (WTI +1.06% to $91.18) alongside persistent inflation and government-debt-sustainability concerns. Despite the yield spike, US equities rebounded from Tuesday's selloff as investors looked past the Middle East tensions: the S&P 500 and Dow each rose about 0.47%, the Nasdaq gained 0.37%, and the Russell 2000 led with a 1.10% gain. Separately, ADP's National Employment Report showed private-sector payrolls rose just 38,000 in August — below the 48,000 forecast and down from July's revised 46,000, the slowest pace since January — with manufacturing shedding 17,000 jobs, adding to labor-market softening evidence ahead of Friday's BLS nonfarm payrolls report.