Stock market today: Wall Street claws back some of its losses from earlier in the week
Wall Street is holding steadier as yields stabilize in the bond market following a jump earlier in the week
NEW YORK — Wall Street is clawing back some of its losses from earlier in the week as pressure eases from the bond market Thursday.
The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in afternoon trading, coming off a back-to-back loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 71 points, or 0.2%, as of 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.
Big Tech stocks were helping to lead the way, including a 2.8% climb for Apple. Fastenal jumped 6.2% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the distributor of safety supplies, fasteners and other products reported a bigger quarterly profit than analysts expected. They helped offset a warning from Humana about how higher costs would eat into its profit. The insurer tumbled 12.1%.
Stocks were broadly steadier as Treasury yields in the bond market slowed their jump from earlier in the week. Yields had been climbing as traders pushed back their forecasts for how soon the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates. Higher yields in turn undercut prices for stocks and raise the pressure on the economy.
The Fed has indicated it will likely cut rates several times in 2024 because inflation has been cooling since its peak two summers ago, meaning it may not need as tight a leash on the economy and financial system. But critics said Wall Street’s expectations went overboard in how many cuts the Fed would deliver this year and how soon it would begin. That in turn may have sent stock prices too high and Treasury yields too low since their big moves began last autumn.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.15% from 4.11% late Wednesday. It had begun the week at 3.95%.
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