US: Stocks fall again on interest rate angst

WALL Street stocks dipped on Thursday following the latest rise in US Treasury yield as weak housing data pointed to the drag from higher lending rates.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note climbed further above 4.0 per cent, reflecting the market’s expectation for more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rates to counter inflation.

Data showed existing home sales in the United States fell for an eighth straight month in September, as surging mortgage rates following earlier Fed rate hikes weigh on demand.

“For a good part of Wall Street right now, it’s all about yields,” said Oanda’s Edward Moya, noting that more investors now expect interest rates to hit 5.0 per cent next year, up from the current Federal Reserve policy rate range of 3.0-3.25 per cent.

“There’s still a lot more economic pain that’s going to be coming. And that’s troubling for risk appetite right now,” Moya said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.3 per cent at 30,333.59.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.8 per cent to 3,665.78, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.6 per cent to 13,869.19.

Worries about higher interest rates offset a largely positive set of earnings from IBM, A&T and others.

But Tesla tumbled 6.7 percent after reporting that profits more than doubled to US$3.3 billion but revenues missed analyst expectations.

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JPMorgan Chase characterized the results as “modestly softer than expected,” with pricing not quite as strong, adding to “debates about demand destruction.” AFP