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U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as higher bond yields continued to put pressure on high-growth technology stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials backtracked 117.66 points to begin Thursday at 31,844.20, from Wednesday’s all-time record close.
The S&P 500 slipped 28.94 points to 3,896.49.
The NASDAQ Composite slouched 143.87 points, or 1.1%, to 13,454.09, as Tesla, Alphabet and Microsoft all traded in the red.
GameStop, the controversial meme stock whose massive short squeeze shocked Wall Street last month, is on the rise again. Shares were up more than 30% in volatile trading after doubling in the previous session on the reported ousting of a chief executive.
Investors digested better-than-expected economic data out Thursday. First-time jobless claims totaled 730,000 for the week ended Feb. 20, versus a print of 845,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Meanwhile, durable goods orders increased by 3.4% in January, compared to a Dow Jones consensus of 1.0% growth.
Some traders looked past the moves in the bond market after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the central bank’s commitment to easy policy and downplayed the risk of inflation, saying it could take three years or more before the Fed’s goals are reached.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys fell sharply, raising yields to 1.47% from Wednesday’s 1.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 21 cents to $63.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stumbled $20.40 to $1,777.50
