Stocks Fall to Start September As Market Reels on Worries of Rising Rates

U.S. stocks fell lower to start the month after all three major averages registered their biggest August percentage declines since 2015.

The S&P 500 edged down 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased 105 points, or 0.3%. Tech continued to lead the way down, with the Nasdaq Composite sliding 0.9%. Meanwhile, the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield reached 3.257%, its highest level since June.

A downbeat start to September comes on the heels of four straight sessions of selling amid renewed fears of restrictive monetary policy and a potential recession. In August, the benchmark S&P 500 fell 4.2%, the Dow was down 4.1%, and the Nasdaq posted a monthly loss of 4.6%.

“A soft landing looks pretty unlikely,” Wells Fargo Head of Macro Strategy Mike Schumacher told Yahoo Finance Live. “A lot of things would have to go incredibly well — you'd have to have the energy situation ease, which is shy of a miracle at this point, COVID probably has to be pretty moderate if you think about a surge this fall or this winter.”

On the economic data front Thursday morning, jobless claims fell for a third week to the lowest reading in two months. First-time unemployment insurance filings fell unexpectedly to 232,000 in the week ended August 27. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected claims to come in at 248,000.

The main event of the week is the Labor Department’s official report for August, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday morning. Nonfarm payrolls likely rose by 300,000 in August, according to data from Bloomberg.