The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped its losing streak on a mixed day for the broader market in the face of rising bond yields.
The Dow rose 64 points, or 0.2%. It had fallen in six straight sessions. The S&P 500 fell 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%.
The 2-year Treasury yield rose to 4.961% and briefly crossed 5%. The 10-year yield was up to 4.657%. Rising yields have weighed on stocks as traders increasingly bet the Federal Reserve will need to keep interest rates steady for the near future.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said as much during a discussion on Tuesday when he noted recent data has shown a lack of further progress in reaching the central bank’s 2% inflation goal.
“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence, and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Powell said.
Markets waffled up and down following Powell’s comments. Fed-fund futures put odds of a June rate cut at 16.9% from 21.3% on Monday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Markets are also watching to see how Israel responds to Iran’s missile and drone attacks from over the weekend.
“The uncertainty is gonna live with the markets now for a bit, so we’re just going to have to deal with this,” Sevens Report Research’s Tom Essaye told Barron’s. “The best scenario is that it doesn’t get worse.”