The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.24% on Monday, its highest close since June 2007, after moving above a 19-year high last week.
Ram Ahluwalia, founder and CEO of Lumida Wealth and a co-host of Bits + Bips, said on Monday’s show that the selloff behind the move is close to running its course.
"So this is just getting to like technical panic selling of bonds," Ahluwalia said. "I think you’re gonna see this top out soon. I don’t think rates are gonna blow out."
Ahluwalia prefers utilities and financials over bonds
Ahluwalia said that instead of buying bonds, investors should look at rate-sensitive securities such as utilities and financials.
He described utilities as bond proxies, saying their value comes from long, steady cash flows that become less valuable when rates rise.
He added that the sector’s decline reflects rates rather than weaker businesses.
"The earnings from these companies haven’t dropped. It’s just rates," he said.
Ahluwalia also pointed to October 2023, the last time before this month that the 10-year yield pushed toward 5%. It closed at 4.98% on Oct. 19 that year.
Comparing the two periods, he said, "So here we are almost to the day, to the week, a few years later."
Why some traders still see a case for higher rates
Austin Campbell, Ahluwalia’s co-host and the founder of Zero Knowledge Group, laid out why bond traders may be concerned.
He said they may be pricing in inflation tied to government spending, including Social Security. Campbell added that he was not taking a strong view himself and was only describing what some in the market expect.
"I think this is the classic sort of conflict between rates and equities, and one of them is wrong," Campbell said.
Ahluwalia said he agreed and called the move a technical overshoot.
"I wouldn’t read too much into it," he said.
Still, he said there is a case to be made for higher long-run rates. He cited inflation, stubborn house prices, and higher returns on capital as the bull case for rates. Setting inflation aside, he said rates are rising for the right reasons overall, with AI investment adding about a point and a half to GDP.
Bitcoin ETF inflows stayed strong as yields climbed
Campbell also noted on the show that as yields climbed, spot bitcoin ETFs brought in $2.39 billion in the week through Sept. 25, their largest weekly inflow since early October 2025.