US: Stocks mixed as lofty bond yields remain a worry
WALL Street stocks were mixed at the end of a choppy session on Wednesday as markets weighed higher oil prices and volatility in Treasury bond yields.
US oil prices closed at their highest level in more than a year, adding to worries about persistent inflation that could lead the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer.
“We’ve got a lot of a lot of trends going on in the background that are creating a difficult environment for investors -- obviously rising interest rates to rising oil prices, and there is a stronger dollar,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital Management.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 per cent to 33,550.27.
The broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 4,274.51, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent to 13,092.85.
Stocks had initially advanced on a pullback in yields, but the 10-year US Treasury note reversed course, pushing closer to five per cent.
New orders for durable goods rose 0.2 per cent in August from a month earlier to US$284.7 billion, much above expectations.
“But good news is actually bad news for equities,” said Oanda’s Edward Moya. “Signs of economic resilience will move the needle in possibly making the Fed deliver more rate hikes.”
Among individual companies, Costco Wholesale gained 1.9 per cent after reporting a jump of more than nine per cent to US$77.4 billion in quarterly sales. AFP
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