US stocks mostly lower amid worries over bond yields
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during the opening bell, in New York City.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks finished a choppy session mostly lower on Tuesday, as worries about higher Treasury bond yields offset investor appetite to keep buying equities.
“Today it’s a sober mindset,” said Interactive Brokers strategist Steve Sosnick, adding that Monday’s rally in tech shares was probably “overenthusiastic” in light of rising bond yields.
The tech-centered Nasdaq Composite Index still mustered a 0.1 per cent gain to finish at 13,505.87.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 per cent to 34,288.83, while the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.3 per cent to 4,387.55.
Stocks have been under pressure in August, most recently due to a spike in Treasury bond yields to multi-year peaks amid expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer.
Markets are looking ahead to an address on Friday by US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell for clues on future monetary policy.
Mr Powell “likely will continue to emphasise the Fed’s laser-focus on taming inflation, even with the central bank’s benchmark funds rate already at the highest level in 22 years”, said a note from Charles Schwab.
Sales of homes in the United States ticked down in July, according to industry data, as elevated mortgage rates and limited housing supply held buyers back.
Existing home sales edged down 2.2 per cent in July to an annual rate of 4.1 million, seasonally adjusted, said the National Association of Realtors.
Among retailers reporting results, Lowe’s jumped 3.8 per cent, but Macy’s fell 14.1 per cent and Dick’s Sporting Goods slumped 24.1 per cent. AFP
