Stocks fell from Tuesday’s records as elevated bond volatility kept investors on edge.
Treasury yields retreated from fresh multidecade highs after a strong 10-year note auction soothed some investor fears. Earlier, yields on both 10-year and 30-year Treasurys touched their highest levels since 2002. The 10-year yield finished the day at 5.276%, up slightly on the day after getting as high as 5.361%.
The Dow industrials, Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 all traded lower, a day after the artificial-intelligence rally powered the S&P and Nasdaq to records. The blue-chip average dropped 342 points, or 0.7%, while the S&P and Nasdaq both lost 0.2%.
The Federal Reserve also released minutes from its September meeting. Investors took the disclosure in stride, keeping expectations in check that the central bank could hike interest rates once more before year-end. Housing remained a concern as mortgage rates rose to their highest level in nearly three years.
Overseas, yields on French government bonds rose again, but remain below the levels they hit last week when worries about the country’s fiscal health reignited memories of the eurozone debt crisis.