4.05pm: Investors cautious as 10-year Treasury yield hits nearly 3%
US stocks finished the trading session lower, amidst some notable intraday volatility, as the 10-year Treasury yield hit 2.9%, its highest level since late 2018.
At the close, the Dow fell 40 points to 34,412, while the S&P 500 eased a single point at 4,392 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 19 points to 13,332.
Notable movers included shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Corporation, which gained nearly 4% after financial results from the financial services giant edged past expectations despite a 13% year-over-year decline in its earnings per share.
12:15pm: Stocks trading lower at midday
Wall Street was down on Monday as investors returned from a holiday weekend and geared up for another busy week of corporate earnings results from the likes of Tesla, Netflix, American Express and United Airlines.
The S&P 500 reversed earlier gains, while the Dow and Nasdaq also declined slightly.
At noon, the S&P 500 was down 0.4% at 4,374 points, while the Dow retreated 0.3% at 34,384. The Nasdaq lagged behind, falling 0.9% at 13,225 points.
9:38am: US stocks edge higher
US stocks edged higher in early trading, while the 10-year Treasury yield continued its upward march following a three-day holiday weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 135 points higher, about 0.4%, in the first minutes of New York trading. The S&P 500 opened up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was roughly flat.
“The inflation concern is real. There is a bit of a buyers’ strike going on,” Jimmy Lim, founder of hedge fund Modular Asset Management, told The Wall Street Journal.
The US markets are pricing in more aggressive interest-rate rises in the coming months by the Federal Reserve, which is trying to bring down elevated consumer-price inflation without derailing economic growth.
Meanwhile, for equity investors, earnings season will remain in focus this week as a number of major companies including United Airlines, American Express, Netflix and Tesla each report their latest quarterly results.
6.40am: Weak Street after break
US stocks are expected to return from the three-day holiday weekend in dull fashion, while Treasury yields continue to advance.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were both around 0.5% lower, while those for the Nasdaq 100 were down 0.85%.
US government bonds were weak again sending yields higher as markets are pricing in more aggressive interest rate rises in the coming months by the Federal Reserve, which is trying to bring down inflation without derailing economic growth.
Chinese stocks fell on Monday after official data showed that the world’s second-largest economy grew 4.8% in the first quarter. China’s quarterly growth data beat economists’ expectations and its economy expanded at a faster pace than in the final three months of 2021 on an on-the-year basis. However, other data pointed to continued weakness in the property market and retail sales, as fresh COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns in Shanghai weighed heavily on consumers.
Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific, at OANDA commented: "With most of Europe, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand on holiday today, the focus of the day has been on this morning’s tier-1 data releases from China. China GDP YoY for Q1 beat expectations, rising by 4.80% (4.50% exp), and rising 1.30% QoQ (0.60% exp). Industrial Production in March fell to 5.0% YoY from 7.50% in February while Retail Sales had a big miss, slumping to -3.50% YoY (-1.60% exp.) in March from 6.70% in February. Meanwhile, Unemployment in March rose to 5.80% from 5.50% previously, and Capacity Utilisation fell to 75.80% from 77.40% previously."
He added: "Overall, the data suggest that China started the year well, but as the quarter has moved on the headwinds have gotten stronger. A slowing property market, sweeping Covid restrictions, the Ukraine invasion pushing up base commodity and energy prices, and a central bank still intent on deleveraging sectors of the economy, have all combined to weigh on China's growth. About the only thing missing is a meaningful rise in inflation, which is some small sliver of comfort."