Dow slides more than 250 points as higher rates pressure stocks: Live updates

The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated on Tuesday as concern over rising yields dented investor sentiment to start the week.

The Dow shed 275 points, or 0.7%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.4% after crossing the 17,000 level for the first time ever earlier in the session. The technology-heavy index was buoyed by Nvidia‘s jump of more than 5%.

The blue-chip Dow was weighed down by a slide in Merck and other health names. Meanwhile, more than 350 stocks in the broad S&P 500 were tracking for losses in the session. The index’s health care, industrials, financials and consumer staples sectors were all poised to finish more than 1% in the red.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield‘s rise back above the key 4.5% level after a government auction that was met with weak demand weighed on stocks. The 10-year yield was last higher by nearly 7 basis points.

Also on Tuesday, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said he wants to see “many more months” of data pointing to easing inflation before cutting rates. He also said he would not rule out further rate hikes if price pressures tick up again.

Tuesday’s moves come near the end of a strong month, with all three major indexes recording fresh record levels in May. Softer inflation data earlier this month and better-than-expected quarterly earnings reports lifted sentiment, with the former suggesting Federal Reserve rate cuts could come earlier than investors had anticipated. The Dow has added about 2.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have climbed more than 4% and 8%, respectively.

“We could see a little bit of choppiness this week” coming off the long weekend, said Larry Tentarelli, founder of the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report. “But overall, I think the market is bullish.”

Looking ahead, investors are gearing up for the personal income and expenditures report, which includes the PCE inflation reading, for April out Friday.