S&P 500 on Track for Third Week of Declines, Led by Tech
March 05 2021 - 5:24AM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Wallace
U.S. stock futures fell Friday, pointing to another day of
losses for major indexes as investors awaited the monthly jobs
report for fresh insights into the health of the labor market.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 edged down 0.4%. The S&P
500 is on track for its third week of declines. It was down 1.1%
for the week by the end of Thursday, and closed at its lowest level
since the end of January.
Contracts tied to the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 fell 0.6%,
suggesting that the sector will continue to lead the retreat after
the opening bell.
Stocks have stumbled in recent weeks as a climb in bond yields
has called into question whether low interest rates, which
propelled valuations higher for much of the past year, can continue
for much longer. Yields, which rise as bond prices fall, have
rallied in response to expectations of a quickening pace of growth
and inflation as the economy reopens from the coronavirus
pandemic.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes ticked up again Friday, to
1.557%, from 1.547% Thursday. That marked the highest level for the
benchmark borrowing cost since February last year. The latest climb
in yields came after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
provided no sign the central bank would seek to stem the rise when
he spoke at The Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit.
"It is all about the bond-yield moves. It is all about Jerome
Powell," said Edward Park, chief investment officer at Brooks
Macdonald. "There is a huge amount of uncertainty in the market at
the moment as to whether the inflation that is widely expected in
the short term. is transient or whether it is more sustained."
Bond yields are likely to keep rising and stocks may remain
jittery unless the Fed takes concrete steps to put a cap on yields,
according to Mr. Park. "Markets are at their most volatile when
they are not sure how monetary policy and fiscal policy is going to
react."
Technology stocks have borne the brunt of the shift in sentiment
in recent weeks. The Nasdaq Composite Index, a closely watched
barometer for the sector, on Thursday fell to its lowest level
since Jan. 4. The index ended the day down 9.7% from its Feb. 12
high, putting it just short of correction territory.
Investors will later parse the February jobs report, due to be
released at 8:30 a.m. ET. It is expected to show that the economy
created 210,000 jobs last month. That would add to signs of a slow
improvement in the labor market, after data on Thursday showed
filings for unemployment benefits reached their lowest level in
three months.
The jobs report may not sway bond yields much because the data
are unlikely to affect the progress of the Biden administration's
stimulus package through the Senate, said Lyn Graham-Taylor, senior
rates strategist at Rabobank. The Senate on Thursday advanced the
$1.9 trillion bill after making a series of adjustments, and is
expected to give its approval within days.
Yields are likely to keep heading higher, according to Mr.
Graham-Taylor. "So far the Fed's emphasized that it's not loving
it, but it is pretty comfortable with it," he said. "In the back of
their minds, it is natural for yields to rise a bit: We're not in
the eye of the storm as we were."
Oil prices rallied for a second day after OPEC and a Russia-led
coalition of oil producers kept most of their production cuts in
place, taking the market by surprise. Brent crude, the benchmark in
international energy markets, rose 1.9% to $68.02 a barrel.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 ticked down
0.5%.
Major Asian indexes ended the day down. Japan's Nikkei 225
ticked 0.2% lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped almost
0.5%.
Write to Joe Wallace at Joe.Wallace@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 05, 2021 05:09 ET (10:09 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.