Stock market today: Wall Street falls after 10-year yield climbs to the cusp of 5%

NEW YORK — Wall Street fell Thursday as it faces the prospect of a 5% yield on the 10-year Treasury for the first time since 2007.

The S&P 500 lost 36.60 points, or 0.8%, to 4,278.00 following a mixed set of profit reports from Tesla and other influential companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 250.91 points, or 0.7%, to 33,414.17, and the Nasdaq composite sank 128.13 points, or 1%, to 13,186.18.

Stocks felt pressure from the bond market, where rapidly rising yields have squeezed Wall Street since the summer. The yield on the 10-year Treasury touched 4.99%, up from 4.91% late Wednesday, before paring its gain to 4.98%. A higher 10-year yield makes mortgages more expensive, knocks down prices for investments and makes it costlier for companies to borrow and grow.

Yields swung after the Federal Reserve’s chair said again that the central bank will watch how the economy and inflation trend before making upcoming decisions on interest rates. It’s already pulled its main overnight interest rate to the highest level since 2001.

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a speech Thursday noted the recent rise in longer-term bond yields, such as the 10-year Treasury’s, has been doing some of the Fed’s work for it by slowing the economy without requiring additional hikes.




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A trader works May 26 on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange.

High yields hurt all kinds of stocks, particularly those expected to see big growth in the future and those seen as very expensive. That’s often put the spotlight on Big Tech, and some reported a mixed set of profits.

Tesla fell 9.3% after it reported weaker results for the summer than analysts expected. It’s been cutting prices to drive sales, but that also eats into its profitability.

Zions Bancorp. tumbled 9.7% even though it reported stronger profit than expected for the latest quarter. It and other banks smaller in size than the industry’s biggest titans struggled earlier this year after high interest rates helped cause three high-profile bank failures.

On the opposite end was Netflix, which jumped 16.1%. It reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it said it would raise prices on some of its membership levels to drive more revenue.

American Airlines rose 0.8% after reporting stronger profit than expected for the busy summer season.

Crude oil prices rose further after erasing losses from the morning. A barrel of U.S. crude for November delivery rose $1.05 to settle at $89.37. Brent crude added 88 cents to $92.38. per barrel.

Indexes fell across Europe after slumping more sharply across Asia.

Author: CSN