The stock market stumbled again on Wednesday as the big three indexes are struggling to close out an otherwise strong month.
The Dow was down about 411 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 was down 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6%. The Nasdaq is still up more than 8% this month. The S&P 500 is up 4.6%. The Dow is up 1.7%.
Bond yields rose again, weighing on stocks broadly. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note was up to 4.983% while the 10-year yield was up to 4.623%.
Only about TK S&P 500 stocks closed higher on the day. All 11 major S&P 500 sectors fell on the same day for the first time since April 30.
The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, jumped more than 6% to 13.72. Traders are unsure about the path forward for inflation, the economy, and how both will factor into the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decisions.
The personal consumption expenditures price index on Friday will be a key datapoint, but even progress on lowering inflation will need to sustain multiple reports in the months ahead before the Fed starts thinking about cuts.
