US stocks fell on Wednesday morning as global bond yields rose, while investors assessed the minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) dropped 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) declined 0.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) fell 0.3%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at record highs the day before.

The yield on 30-year Treasury (^TYX) bonds rose to 5.70%, the highest since 2002, ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting, when policymakers raised interest rates to combat inflation.

The minutes indicated policymakers see another rate hike before the end of the year, though no timeline was given. As of Wednesday, traders priced in roughly 17% odds of a rate hike at the Fed's October meeting next week.

Sentiment had turned more buoyant in markets this week as bullish earnings estimates helped lift major indexes to all-time highs. But as Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi pointed out on Tuesday, those records belie a highly concentrated market in which the index's top three holdings (Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT)) account for roughly a fifth of the S&P 500.

Factors that have weighed on markets this year could still pose impediments. Brent crude oil futures (BZ=F) remain above $100 per barrel amid the latest Houthi attacks in the Middle East.

On the earnings docket, Levi Strauss & Co. ( LEVI ) and Applied Digital ( APLD ) report results.