NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks fell early Friday The return on government bonds remained high as traders monitored the conflict in the Middle East.
Shortly after trading began, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent to 33,342.45.
The S&P 500 Index also fell 0.2 percent to 4,269.30, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.4 percent to 13,139.22.
This came as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury The note, which is seen as a benchmark for interest rates, briefly rose above five percent on Thursday afternoon for the first time since 2007.
“This morning’s weakness follows yesterday’s weakness, which also had an undertone of interest rate fears,” Briefing.com’s Patrick O’Hare said in a note.
He added that these concerns were not “exactly related” to the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome PowellThursday’s comments.
Powell had said US inflation remains “too high,” leaving the door open for a further rate hike.
But O’Hare noted that the central bank chief added in a question-and-answer session that the rise in Treasury yields was driven by term premia, not higher expected inflation.
Aside from interest rate concerns, the market is keeping an eye on the U.S. House of Representatives’ efforts to elect a new speaker — a process that is hampering its legislative work.
Congress has been paralyzed for more than two weeks because the divided Republicans, who have the majority in the House of Representatives, have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement.
Markets are also watching developments in the Middle East, with Israel vowing to destroy Hamas after the militant group launched a surprise attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people.
Israeli forces have razed entire city blocks in Gaza in preparation for a ground invasion they say will take place soon.
The Hamas-led Health Ministry said more than 4,00 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack.
Shortly after trading began, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent to 33,342.45.
The S&P 500 Index also fell 0.2 percent to 4,269.30, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.4 percent to 13,139.22.
This came as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury The note, which is seen as a benchmark for interest rates, briefly rose above five percent on Thursday afternoon for the first time since 2007.
“This morning’s weakness follows yesterday’s weakness, which also had an undertone of interest rate fears,” Briefing.com’s Patrick O’Hare said in a note.
He added that these concerns were not “exactly related” to the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome PowellThursday’s comments.
Powell had said US inflation remains “too high,” leaving the door open for a further rate hike.
But O’Hare noted that the central bank chief added in a question-and-answer session that the rise in Treasury yields was driven by term premia, not higher expected inflation.
Aside from interest rate concerns, the market is keeping an eye on the U.S. House of Representatives’ efforts to elect a new speaker — a process that is hampering its legislative work.
Congress has been paralyzed for more than two weeks because the divided Republicans, who have the majority in the House of Representatives, have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement.
Markets are also watching developments in the Middle East, with Israel vowing to destroy Hamas after the militant group launched a surprise attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people.
Israeli forces have razed entire city blocks in Gaza in preparation for a ground invasion they say will take place soon.
The Hamas-led Health Ministry said more than 4,00 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack.
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