It was a volatile session for stocks today, after a dramatic surge in bond yields scared investors away following yesterday's wild rally. The Dow fell nearly 560 points, just a day after notching a record close. The S&P 500 also registered substantial losses, while the Nasdaq sank deeper into the red, as investors jumped ship from tech giants such as Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB) and Tesla (TSLA) -- which rely on easy borrowing to fuel their rapid growth --- to stocks that may benefit from an economic recovery.
Higher bond yields also largely overshadowed better-than expected jobs data, which came in at 730,000 claims for last week, as opposed to Wall Street's estimated 845,000. Durable goods orders also beat analysts' expectations with a 3.4% increase for January.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Checking in with Cinemark stock ahead of earnings.
- Why options bulls blasted this hurting cruise name.
- Plus, NVDA falls despite slew of bull notes; Best Buy stock dips on cooling demand; and the beer stock struggling after beating estimates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 31,402.01) fell 559.9 points, or 1.8% for the day. 3M (MMM) led the Dow components with an 0.6% rise, while Boeing (BA) paced the laggards, falling 5.6%.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,829.34) dropped 96.1 points, or 2.5% for the day. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 3,119.43) shaved 478.5 points, or 3.5% for the day.
Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 28.89) added 7.5 points, or 35.4% for the day.
- Pfizer (PFE) is exploring two different paths to fight Covid-19 variants, one of which involves using a third booster shot with the existing vaccine formulation. (CNBC)
- A Mastercard (MA) executive said bitcoin is too volatile to be a part of its network, after the company announced it will start allowing cryptocurrencies. (MarketWatch)
- Global chip shortage hurt NVDA despite slew of post-earnings bull notes.
- Best Buy stock slipped after cooling demand led to mixed quarterly results.
- This major beer stock struggled despite a revenue beat.
Gold Prices Fall for Third Session as Treasury Yield Surges
Oil prices marked a nearly 22-month closing high on Thursday, brushing off fears that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) may soon increase crude production. In response, April-dated crude added 31 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $63.53 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold prices logged their third consecutive loss as the U.S. 10-year Treasury note surged beyond the 1.5% mark to notch its highest level in one year. In turn, April-dated gold fell $22.50, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,775.40 an ounce.
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