US markets end mostly lower on Monday

23 Feb 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Monday as traders moved out of technology stocks amid concerns about the impact of the recent increase in treasury yields. The sell-off came as the yield on the benchmark ten-year note saw further upside on the day, reaching its highest closing level in a year. Bond yields remain at historically low levels, but the recent increase may still spook investors already concerned that stocks are overbought. Traders were also looking ahead to two days of Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Powell is likely to reiterate that the Fed plans to maintain easy monetary policy for the foreseeable future as the economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Fed has recently signaled that it is not concerned about inflation, suggesting that inflation should exceed its 2 percent target for some time before the central bank considers raising interest rates. On the economic data front, the Conference Board released a report showing a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading US economic indicators in the month of January. The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.5 percent in January after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in December. Street had expected the leading economic index to rise by 0.3 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.

Nasdaq fell 341.42 points or 2.46 percent to 13,533.05 and S&P 500 was down by 30.21 points or 0.77 percent to 3,876.5, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27.37 points or 0.09 percent to 31,521.69. 

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×