The US markets ended mostly in red on Wednesday following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management on U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of February. While the ISM said its manufacturing PMI inched up to 47.7 in February from 47.4 in January, a reading below 50 still indicates a contraction. Street had expected the index to edge up to 48.0. The report also showed the prices index jumped to 51.3 in February from 44.5 in January, indicating raw materials prices increased after decreasing for four consecutive months. The notable rebound by the prices index may have added to recent concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates. Meanwhile, treasury yields jumped following the release of the report, with the ten-year yield reaching its highest levels in over three months.
Bond yields extended their February gains, with the benchmark 10-year yield briefly topping 4% for the first time since November. The 1-year Treasury yield rose above 5%. On the sectoral front, interest rate-sensitive utilities stocks showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the Dow Jones Utility Average down by 1.8 percent to its lowest closing level in over three months. Considerable weakness was also visible among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent slump by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index. Telecom and commercial real estate stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while steel, energy and gold stocks moved sharply higher.
Nasdaq dropped 76.06 points or 0.66 percent to 11,379.48 and S&P 500 was down by 18.76 points or 0.47 percent to 3,951.39, while Dow Jones Industrial Average added 5.14 points or 0.02 percent to 32,661.84.
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