Stocks increased on Thursday morning as we approached the end of the month while investors closely watched the erratic Treasury market.
More than 0.2% was added to the market index traded overall. Both the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by more than 0.1%.
Early trading on Thursday saw the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note reach a new 15-year high as statistics released on Thursday showed a continuing robust labour market with unemployment claims coming in lower than anticipated. Since rates have been rising, concerns of a recession have increased and the stock market has been following the bond market’s lead, bringing equities to new lows. This week, the 10-year yield reached its highest level since 2007, while the S&P 500 touched its lowest level since June.
The S&P 500’s largest laggards were information technology stocks, which had a 0.7% decline last month. After releasing mediocre earnings expectations for the upcoming quarter, Micron Technology saw a more than 4% decline. Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, three major megacap tech companies, all saw their shares fall.
Trading has had a challenging month and quarter, which ends on Friday. The Dow is anticipated to close out the quarter and the month with losses of more than 3% and 2%, respectively. The S&P 500 is anticipated to end the month down 5% and the third quarter down around 4%. The Nasdaq is anticipated to lose more than 6% and 5%, respectively, for the month and quarter.
Source (CNBC)
