U.S. Stocks Tumble For 3rd Straight Day As Bond Yields Rise

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, extending recent losses, amid concerns the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for longer to control inflation.

Stocks opened slightly higher, but retreated soon and then spent the rest of the day's session in the red.

The major averages all ended in the red, with the Nasdaq suffering a more pronounced loss, as yields on long term Treasury Notes climbed to a 16-year high.

The Dow ended down 290.91 points or 0.84 percent at 34,474.83. The S&P 500 shed 33.97 points or 0.77 percent to settle at 4,370.36, while the Nasdaq dropped 157.70 points or 1.17 percent to 13,316.93.

In economic news, data from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline in the week ended August 12th.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 239,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level of 250,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 240,000 from the 248,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 234,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 231,500.

A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index increased to +12 in August, up from -13.5 in July.

Meanwhile, the Conference Board's leading index declined 0.4 percent month-on-month in July.

Walgreens Boots Alliance fell more than 3 percent. Boeing, United Health, Apple, Home Depot, Salesforce.com and Nike declined 1.4 to 2.3 percen.

Meta Platforms shares ended more than 3 percent down. Intel, Apple Inc and Microsoft also closed notably lower.

Walmart shares ended lower by more than 2 percent despite the company lifting its annual guidance after second quarter results beat expectations.

Cisco Systems climbed about 3.3 percent, lifted by better than expected fourth-quarter results.

3M, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson, Colca-Cola and IBM posted modest gains.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks ended weak amid mounting China worries and on hawkish Fed minutes.

The major European markets closed weak on Thursday, extending recent losses, as worries about China's economic woes, interest rate and inflation concerns continued to weigh on sentiment.