US stocks fall as Treasury yields jump
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Traders working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.
PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks fell on Wednesday, while Treasury bond yields surged to multi-year highs as analysts warned that Federal Reserve meeting minutes were more hawkish than expected.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose further above 4 per cent, hitting a 15-year high, according to the Wall Street Journal.
United States Treasury yields, which are a proxy for interest rates, climbed on the release of Fed minutes in which policymakers pointed to significant risks that price increases would persist.
“There seems to be a pretty good coalition of folks who think we need to raise again this year,” said Mr Art Hogan of B. Riley Financial.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.5 per cent at 34,765.74.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.8 per cent to 4,404.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.2 per cent to 13,474.63.
Mr Hogan also pointed to other factors behind Wednesday’s weakness, including disappointing China data and seasonal selling patterns in August.
Among individual companies, Intel dropped 3.6 per cent as it abandoned a US$5.4 billion (S$7.3 billion) deal to buy Tower Semiconductor in Israel after failing to get needed regulatory approval.
Tower Semiconductor sank 10.7 per cent.
Target’s shares climbed 2.9 per cent following a mixed earnings report, in which the retailer announced better-than-expected quarterly results but trimmed back its full-year profit forecast on lower sales.
The big-box chain described its inventory position as much improved compared with 2022 when it had a glut of unwanted merchandise.
TJX, the parent of retail chains including TJ Maxx and Marshalls, gained 4.1 per cent as it lifted full-year targets after topping profit forecasts. AFP
