Friends

Bonds yields pushed dramatically higher today with the 10-year Treasury Note trading with a yield of 5.12%. The economy is strong; inflation pressures persist and oil prices moved higher once again. All this has helped push interest rates higher. Stocks had been able to shrug off interest rate fears for a couple of days, but today the market averages traded lower under the pressure.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 352 points to finish the day at 51,511. The S&P 500 was down 58 points to close at 7,706. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 308 points to close at 26,936. Gold was down $58 to trade at $4,318 per ounce, while oil was up $2.08 to $92.60 per barrel WTI.

So once again the bond market is the story. Bond yields pushing higher obviously causes borrowing costs to rise but remember rising interest rates can become competition for stocks too. As we have mentioned, stocks have been resilient so far. Let’s see how the rest of the week plays out.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim