Investing.com - Wall Street opened lower on Thursday as rising Treasury yields continued to weigh down markets, offsetting mixed economic data.
The S&P 500 was down six points or 0.25% to 2,715.62 as of 9:45 AM ET (13:45 GMT) while the Dow composite decreased over 87 points or 0.36% to 24,756.74 and tech heavy NASDAQ Composite fell 20 points or 0.28% to 7,377.46.
Stocks were down after mixed economic data. The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose more than expected, by 11,000 while another report showed that firms are optimistic about the future. The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index rose to 34.4 in May from 23.2 in April.
Rising Treasury yields remain in the back of investors’ minds, with the benchmark United States 10-Year yield rising to 3.096 after reaching a seven-year high of 3.119 earlier in the session. As bond yields rise, prices fall.
The increase in bond yields, combined with strengthening inflation, have increased expectations that the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy.
Technology stocks were down, with Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) falling 3.92% after a disappointing forecast, while Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 0.30% and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) dipped 0.16%. Retail giant Walmart (NYSE:WMT) was down 0.55% despite reporting higher than expected earnings results, while General Electric (NYSE:GE) decreased 0.40%.
Elsewhere Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) rose 1.57% while Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) increased 0.96%.
In Europe stocks were up. Germany’s DAX rose 78 points or 0.61% while in France the CAC 40 increased 29 points or 0.52% and in London, the FTSE 100 was up 31 points or 0.40%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained 16 points or 0.45% while Spain’s IBEX 35 rallied 73 points or 0.72%.
In commodities, gold futures inched down 0.26% to $1,288.10 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.36% to $71.75 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.20% to 93.46.