Rising Treasury Yields Drag Stocks Lower on Wall Street
Stocks on Wall Street closed modestly lower Tuesday as rising Treasury yields put pressure on the market. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% after wavering between gains and losses throughout the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.1%. Nvidia, the most influential stock in the market, gave up an early gain to close 0.7% lower.
The sharp increase in Treasury yields has been fueled by rising oil prices, which have been driven higher by the ongoing US-Iran conflict. The price of Brent crude oil fell 1.7% to settle at $96.16 a barrel. Energy stocks were among those with the broadest losses, with ExxonMobil falling 0.7%. Rising Treasury yields threaten to slow economic growth and hurt stock prices, particularly for expensive tech companies.
Despite this, some stocks performed well, including CarMax, which rose 4.7% after reporting strong second-quarter revenue and profits that beat Wall Street expectations. The company also announced changes to its executive leadership. In contrast, wearable health accessories maker Oura postponed its initial public offering due to uncertainty in the IPO market.
Markets in Europe ended mixed, while those in Asia closed mostly lower. With only one day left in September, the S&P 500 is on pace for a slight monthly loss after posting a 2.6% gain in August. The benchmark index is up 12.1% so far this year.
The Labor Department's report showed that US employers posted fewer job openings in August, with layoffs falling and people quitting their jobs at lower rates. This resilience in the jobs market has been a concern for economists, who warn of a potential slowdown due to stubbornly high inflation.
The Federal Reserve will release its preferred measure of inflation on Wednesday, which is expected to show that prices rose 3.7% in August. Economists predict the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate again at its next meeting in October to combat inflation.