WASHINGTON: Wall Street stocks pulled back early Wednesday, with major indexes retreating as investors eyed positive economic data – weighing them against inflation concerns – and higher US Treasury bond yields.
Around five minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 percent to 42,441.78, as did the broad-based S&P 500 Index to 5,897.42.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was also down by 0.2 percent, to 19,448.46.
“The market is tracking the higher yields and that’s obviously putting pressure on stocks,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital.
Wall St slips as upbeat data sparks uncertainty on Fed’s easing cycle
He noted that yields on the 10-year US Treasury have moved higher.
This came as activity in the US services sector picked up pace last month, according to data released Tuesday.
The latest jobless claims data also showed that initial claims dipped for the week ending January 4.
With still-solid economic activity, markets could be concerned about the possibility of sticky inflation and that officials may take a longer time to lower interest rates.
Investors were also keeping watch on President-elect Donald Trump’s trade policies, with CNN reporting that he is considering declaring a national economic emergency to enact new tariffs.
For now, investors are awaiting the upcoming release of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting minutes, and a government employment report due Friday.
On Wednesday, payroll firm ADP said that private sector hiring cooled in December, with its data indicating the bulk of job growth came from big companies.
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