04:21 PM EDT, 09/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell Wednesday for the second straight day, while most government bond yields rose.

* US new-home sales surged 20.5% in August, reaching an annual rate of 800,000, up from a revised 664,000 in July, surprising analysts in a Bloomberg survey expecting a drop to 650,000.

* Mortgage applications increased by 0.6% in the week ended Friday, while 30-year fixed mortgage rates fell to the lowest since September 2024.

* US commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, dropped by 600,000 barrels in the week ending Friday, surprising analysts in a Bloomberg survey expecting an increase of 800,000.

* November West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $1.42 to settle at $64.83 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $1.51 to $69.14.

* Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) shares dropped 17% after the company invoked force majeure with its commercial partners following a recent accident at its Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia, which resulted in the deaths of at least two people.

* UniQure ( QURE ) shares more than tripled after the company said that its Phase 1/2 study for a Huntington's disease treatment achieved its primary endpoint.