Wall Street Relatively Steady After Worst Rout In 2 Months

Stocks are holding relatively steady on Wall Street Wednesday, a day after falling to their worst loss since December on worries about higher interest rates, Stan Choe reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: After leaping at the start of the year, stocks hit a wall in February on worries that inflation may not be cooling as quickly or as smoothly as hoped.

The S&P 500 was little changed in morning trading after drifting between small gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 18 points, or less than 0.1%, at 33,145, as of 11:02 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2%.

After leaping at the start of the year, stocks hit a wall in February on worries that inflation may not be cooling as quickly or as smoothly as hoped.

That has Wall Street upping its forecasts for how high the Federal Reserve will take interest rates, as well as for how long it will keep them at that level. High rates can help drive down inflation, but they raise the risk of a recession because they slow the economy. They also hurt investment prices.

Yields in the Treasury market have shot higher this month after several stronger-than-expected reports on the economy forced the recalibration by Wall Street, which had earlier built bets that easing inflation would get the Fed to take it easier on interest rates soon.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury is near its highest level since November. It pulled back a bit from its surge on Tuesday, dipping to 3.90% from 3.95%. That helped take some pressure off stocks on Wednesday. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.64% from 4.73%.

It’s also been near its highest level since November. If it tops that level, it would be at its highest since 2007, Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott also reported for AP.

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