Wall Street falters on rising yields, geopolitical risks
For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window
CBOE Volatility index hits over one-month high
Pfizer gains on report Starboard Value takes $1 bln stake in co
Oil stocks track crude prices higher
Indexes down: Dow 0.34%, S&P 500 0.26%, Nasdaq 0.27%
Updated at 9:38 a.m. ET
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Pranav Kashyap
Oct 7 (Reuters) -U.S. stock indexes fell on Monday, pressured by rising Treasury yields as markets recalibrated expectations for the Federal Reserve rate cuts, while rising conflict in the Middle East kept traders on the sidelines.
U.S. Treasury yields rallied as investors reassessed the Fed's rate path, with the yield on benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR exceeding 4% for the first time in two months.
Investors are pricing in an over 88% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the Fed meeting in November, according to the CME's FedWatch tool, and around 50 bps easing by the end of this year.
The yield spike cast a shadow over rate-sensitive megacap growth stocks. Alphabet GOOGL.O lost 0.3%, Microsoft MSFT.O shed 0.3%, while Amazon AMZN.O fell nearly 3% after a Wells Fargo downgrade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 142.64 points, or 0.34%, to 42,210.11, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 15.00 points, or 0.26%, to 5,736.07 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 48.61 points, or 0.27%, to 18,089.24.
Escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have also hurt investor appetite. Early on Monday, Hezbollah rockets hit Israel's third-largest city of Haifa.
The CBOE Volatility index .VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, rose as high as 21.45, at its highest level in over one month. It was last at 20.95.
Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were lower, with only energy stocks .SPNY up 0.4%. Crude prices extended gains on concerns about supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict, boosting shares of oil companies.
"(The) concerns that would keep people on the sidelines have to do with higher energy prices in the near term, (the) impact of that inflation and that yields which have been falling precipitously (have) now firmed up," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
Investors are keenly awaiting the consumer price index data, due on Thursday, and comments from several Fed officials, including Neel Kashkari and Raphael Bostic, who are slated to speak throughout the week.
Third-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies also begin this week, with several major banks scheduled to report on Oct. 11.
Earnings will be a significant test for Wall Street's rally this year - the S&P 500 is up about 20% year-to-date and stands near record highs.
Goldman Sachs raised its 2024 year-end S&P 500 .SPX target to 6,000 from 5,600, and also lowered its odds of a U.S. economic recession to 15% from 20%.
Shares of Pfizer PFE.N rose 3.1% on Monday after a report that activist investor Starboard Value has taken a roughly $1 billion stake in the drug giant.
Air Products and Chemicals APD.N was the top S&P 500 gainer on a report that activist hedge fund Mantle Ridge has built up a position in the company.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.33-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 90 new highs and 10 new lows on the NYSE.
The S&P 500 posted 14 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 44 new highs and 27 new lows.
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
