Stocks and Bonds Hammered in Sharp Selloff

Stocks took a beating on Thursday as investors sold off tech shares and Treasurys.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 560 points, a 1.75 percent decline. The S&P 500 sank 2.45 percent. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3.52 percent.

All eleven sectors of the S&PS were down. The worst performing sectors were information technology and consumer discretionary, both down 3.53 percent.

Yields on the 10-year bond moved up sharply, rising above 1.6 percent. At the close of the stock market, the 10 year yield was at 1.51 percent.

The sharp rise in bond yields this month has shaken the stock market. The 10-year, for example, was yielding 1.09 percent on February 1. Bond yields rise when bond prices fall.

Thursday’s move higher followed better than expected figures from the Department of Labor on jobless claims. This suggests that the economy is growing faster than expected. Some investors also fear that inflation may take off, triggering an unexpected rate hike from the Fed.

Fed officials say that they are not concerned by the rising rates, pointing out that higher rates an indication that the economy is returning to normal. Fed chair Powell has said he will not raise rates for quite some time even if consumer prices move up.

Some leading liberal economists have warned that the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion spending proposal risks overstimulating the economy and igniting inflation.

Shares of GameStop jumped again. At one point, shares were trading at $184. Late in the day, they gave up a lot of the gains to close at $108.73 , more than 18 percent above Wednesday’s close.

Three Dow stocks rose. 3M moved up 0.65%. Johnson & Johnson climbed 0.14 percent. Merk ticked up 0.03 percent. The worst performing Dow stocks were Boeing, down 5.64 percent, and Intel, which dropped 4.42 percent.