US stocks opened October trading lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down about 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 215 points under pressure from rising Treasury yields and a selling wave in chip stocks.
Bond yields at elevated levels
The 10-year US Treasury yield jumped to 5.342%, its highest level since April 2002, while the 30-year yield reached about 5.663%, near its highest level in roughly 24 years.
The rise in yields made fixed-income instruments more attractive relative to stocks, prompting investors to reassess their market positions amid concerns about the impact of higher funding costs and persistently elevated yields on corporate performance.
Pressure on chip stocks and the financial sector
Chip stocks came under selling pressure despite strong results reported by Micron Technology, while the S&P 500 financial sector index fell to its lowest level since June.
