- Stocks continued a three-day losing streak Monday.
- Government bond yields jumped sharply higher last week to levels not seen since 2011.
- Meanwhile, the US is said to be monitoring China for currency manipulation.
Stocks continued a three-day losing streak Monday following a bond selloff last week and as escalating trade tensions between the US and China left Wall Street on edge.
The bond market was closed Monday for Columbus Day, but the 10-year Treasury yield had jumped to multi-year highs at 3.23% last week after a string of robust economic data. The Federal Reserve is expected to continue tightening, on top of three rate increases this year and eight since the financial crisis.
Technology companies, which have led Wall Street's latest bull run, took the biggest hits. The Nasdaq Composite closed down 52.50 points, or 0.67%, to 7,735.95. Among the losers were Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) (-1.14%), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (-1.02%) and Nvidia (-1.52%). Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares recovered after nearing their lowest level in a year and a half.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones industrial average erased losses after falling more than 200 points in earlier trading and climbed back to 26,486.78. The S&P 500 was little changed.
Concerns about conflicts between Washington and Beijing weighed on large-cap industrial stocks, including Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), which are sensitive to trade tensions.
Bloomberg reports the Trump administration is weighing whether to name China a currency manipulator. A weaker yuan could be used to boost exports and mitigate effects of US tariffs.
On the commodities front, oil prices fell as much as 3% after reports the Trump administration may offer certain countries waivers when US sanctions against Iran set to kick in next month.