FINANCIAL MARKETS

NEW YORK—U.S. stocks slipped for the third consecutive day Thursday as media and defense companies skidded. Bond yields climbed to their highest levels since May, which helped banks and hurt stocks that pay big dividends.

Stocks started the day higher and were flat at midday, then gradually slid through the afternoon.

Bond prices fell and yields climbed. That helped banks, since they’ll earn more from lending as interest rates rise. It also sent high-dividend stocks like utilities and real estate companies lower as bonds become more appealing to investors seeking income.

Scott Kimball, co-portfolio manager of the BMO TCH Core Plus Bond Fund, said investors believe that central banks will cut back on bond buying. In recent days that’s sent prices lower and yields higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,169.68. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index sank 6.39 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,133.04. The Nasdaq composite lost 34.29 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,215.97.

Comcast continued to fall as investors worried about competition it could face from a new online TV service like AT&T’s DirectTV Now, which was announced Tuesday. Comcast lost $1.08, or 1.7 percent, to $61.48 after falling 3 percent Wednesday. Competitor Charter Communications and TV networks like CBS and Twenty-First Century Fox also skidded.

Raytheon gave up $5, or 3.5 percent, to $136.28 as its outlook failed to impress investors. Communications and surveillance company L-3 Communications gave up $10.96, or 7.4 percent, to $137.75 after it posted weak sales. Aerospace giant Boeing slipped after a big surge Wednesday. U.S. government bond prices dropped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 1.85 percent from 1.79 percent a day earlier, its highest yield in almost five months.

Bristol-Myers Squibb broke out of a slump after it raised its annual forecasts. The stock has fallen by about one-third since early August as investors worried about sales of its cancer treatment Opdivo. The stock rose $2.67, or 5.4 percent, to $51.96. Celgene also raised its forecasts as sales of its cancer drug maker Revlimid kept rising. The stock added $6.34, or 6.4 percent, to $104.75.

Oil prices recovered after falling for three days in a row. U.S. benchmark crude rose 54 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $49.72 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, added 49 cents, or 1 percent, to $50.47 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline remained at $1.49 a gallon. Heating oil rose 2 cents to $1.57 a gallon. Natural gas added 3 cents to $2.76 per 1,000 cubic feet.