Interest rate rise slows markets

Global stocks fell Thursday as interest rates in the U.S. continued to rise. Technology and internet companies skidded, and the Nasdaq composite took its biggest loss in three months.

Strong reports on job gains and the service industry have sent bond prices tumbling over the last two days as traders bet that the U.S. economy would keep growing at about its current clip. Government bonds are stable investments that look most appealing when economic growth is shaky, so investors sold those bonds in the U.S. and Europe.

But the big drop in bond prices is sending interest rates sharply higher, a development that worries investors because it can eventually slow economic growth by making borrowing more expensive for consumers and businesses. It also makes bonds a more intriguing investment compared to stocks.

Sameer Samana, strategist for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said that after months of positive economic data, traders in the bond market are selling because they’ve decided yields are too low for them to get a good return on their investments.

“Economic data for months has been strengthening,” he said. “The bond market has completely ignored it until recently.”

The S&P 500 index skidded 23.90 points, to 2,901.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 200.91 points, to 26,627.48.