Stocks fell Tuesday as a jump in bond yields threatened the bull market by adding pressure on the U.S. consumer and undermining the growth of technology stocks.
Traders also kept an eye on the oil market following President Donald Trump’s cancellation of planned attacks on Iran, as well as recent pressure on chip stocks.
The S&P 500 slid 0.82%, while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1.32%. Both benchmarks were headed for their third losing session in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 184 points, or 0.4%.
Big techs fell. AMD down nearly 6%; Tesla, Broadcom, Amazon, Micron down about 3%; Oracle, Alphabet down about 2%.
The bond market has added a new wrinkle to the bull market. The 30-year Treasury yield hit the highest level in nearly 19 years on Tuesday, topping 5.18%. The move in rates comes after a series of reports last week showing inflation was revving back up as the war in Iran lifted oil prices. Higher rates on things like credit cards and mortgages rates could curb consumer spending. Meanwhile, the rate increase could temper long-term economic growth and expose the sky-high valuations seen recently in some chip stocks.
Ed Yardeni, head of Yardeni Research, believes the so-called bond vigilantes are sending a message that the Federal Reserve is behind the curve on inflation with new chair Kevin Warsh set to be sworn in at the end of the week. Yardeni believes the Fed should hike rates in July to curb inflation. But a move like that from the central bank could pressure equities.
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