Stocks slip as rate pressure ratchets up

Rising Treasury yields put pressure once more on big technology companies Tuesday, pulling U.S. stock indexes further below their recent all-time highs.

The S&P 500 lost 0.3%. Health care stocks also dragged down the market, outweighing gains by banks, industrial stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending. Smaller companies bucked the downward trend, powering the Russell 2000 index to a 1.7% gain.

Treasury yields perked higher after a report showed that consumers are feeling even more confident than economists expected, a big deal for an economy that’s primarily made up of consumer spending. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden was set to unveil details Wednesday about plans to spend more than $3 trillion on infrastructure to help the economy. The consumer confidence report, and the prospect of more massive government spending, fueled a sell-off in U.S. bonds, driving yields higher.

“This is spooking debt investors,” said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors.

The S&P 500 slid 12.54 to 3,958.55, its second decline in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 104.41 from the all-time high it set a day before, or 0.3%, to 33,066.96. The Nasdaq composite fell 14.25, or 0.1%, to 13,045.39. The Russell 2000 rose 37.11 to 2,195.80.

The spotlight was again on the bond market, where the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.73% from 1.72% late Monday. It has jumped from roughly 0.90% at the start of the year with rising expectations for economic growth and inflation.

When bonds pay more in interest, they can make investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks, particularly those seen as the most expensive. Companies that ask their investors to wait years for big profit growth to come to fruition are also hard hit, which has many big technology stocks feeling the most pain from rising rates.