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Technology shares led the U.S. stock market lower on Thursday as a spike in bond yields fueled concern about equity valuations and prompted investors to sell growth-focused high flyers.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded from Wednesday’s all-time high, losing 153.07 points to adjourn at 32,862.30, amid a rally in bank stocks.
The S&P lost 58.66 points, or 1.5%, to 3,915.46.
The NASDAQ Composite plunged 165.56 points, or 1.2%, to 13,116.17, or its worst day since Feb. 25 as Apple, Amazon and Netflix all fell more than 3%. Tesla slipped nearly 7%.
Bank stocks outperformed as higher interest rates tend to improve their profit margins. Banks can earn more from the widening gap between the rate they borrow at in the short term and the rate they lend out at in the long term. U.S. Bancorp hiked 3.3%, and Wells Fargo popped 2.4%. JPMorgan jumped 1.7%, while Bank of America gained 2.6%.
Investors digested a mixed bag of economic data Thursday. Weekly initial jobless claims totaled 770,000 for the week ended March 13, worse than an estimate of 700,000, according to economist polled by Dow Jones.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing index showed a reading of 51.8, well exceeding Dow Jones consensus of 22.0 and hitting the highest level for the gauge since 1973.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys plunged, raising yields to 1.71% from Wednesday’s 1.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $5.30 to $59.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on seven dollars to $1,734.10.
