Rising Treasury Yields Seem To Be Stirring Some Unease In Equity Market

Rising Treasury Yields Seem To Be Stirring Some Unease In Equity Market

After some relative calm on the interest rate front, another jump in the 10-year Treasury yield seems to be pressuring stocks this morning, a day after major indices closed at record highs. With optimism on the vaccine and a newly inked stimulus package, investors appear to be selling safe-haven Treasuries on optimism about the economic recovery. At the same time, there seem to be concerns that stimulus measures and widespread vaccinations that enable further economic reopening could end up causing a problematic rise in inflation, contributing to the higher yield on the 10-year Treasury. In a speech last night, President Joe Biden directed states to make all adults eligible for vaccination no later than May 1. Separately, news that Novavax's (NVAX) vaccine candidate is more than 96% effective against the original COVID-19 strain, seems to also be injecting some optimism into the market about the economic recovery. But with rates on the rise, tech and growth shares that are sensitive to interest rates have been pulling back, which means we may see further pressure on the tech-heavy Nasdaq NDAQ Composite (COMP). Meanwhile, financial stocks that seem like they may benefit from rising interest rates might be able to finish today