SpaceX shares moved lower on Wednesday, with the stock down more than 2% at $153.22 by roughly 1:15 p.m. ET, after a 4.21% decline in the prior session. The pullback came even though the company successfully launched NASA's CRS-35 resupply mission on Tuesday, a flight that produced a luminous, jellyfish-shaped cloud visible along parts of the US Eastern Seaboard.
The divergence between operational success and share price weakness reflects the broader macro backdrop rather than any company-specific failure. A hotter-than-expected September consumer price index reading rippled across asset classes, pressuring equities and pushing government bond yields higher.
Inflation data drives the sell-off
September CPI rose 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from August, while the annual rate accelerated to 3.7%. Economists had forecast 3.6%. The upside surprise reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could hold rates at elevated levels for longer, or tighten again as soon as October.
Equity benchmarks reflected the shift in rate expectations. The S&P 500 was down more than 1% around 1 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq Composite had fallen over 1.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 0.36%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq's underperformance highlights how sensitive growth-oriented names are to changes in the discount rate.
Treasury yields climbed in response. The benchmark 10-year yield rose about seven basis points to 5.29%, while the 30-year yield reached 5.6%. Higher yields make fixed-income alternatives more attractive and raise the cost of financing expansion, two forces that tend to compress equity valuations, particularly for companies with long-duration cash flows.
Why the launch did not lift the stock
SpaceX's CRS-35 mission was a routine operational milestone rather than a surprise catalyst. Earlier in October, the stock rallied more than 7% in each of two sessions, on October 2 and October 5, pushing shares above $150 and then $170, with an intraday high of $176.42. After that sharp advance, a successful resupply launch may have offered little incremental information to investors, since such missions are already embedded in expectations.
Weakness in artificial intelligence-linked equities over the past two sessions added further pressure. Investors are reassessing the sector as rising yields increase the cost of funding AI infrastructure, a dynamic that has weighed on a range of technology names.
New York City hearing on the calendar
SpaceX is scheduled to testify before the New York City Council's Committee on Technology on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 10 a.m. ET. The appearance follows an escalating legal dispute after the company ignored a subpoena concerning artificial intelligence safety risks. The hearing gives investors another item to track as the company faces scrutiny of its AI activities alongside broader market forces.
For now, the stock's direction appears tied more closely to the rate outlook and the market's appetite for risk than to launch cadence. With inflation still above target and yields at multi-year highs, the near-term path for high-multiple technology shares remains sensitive to incoming economic data.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
