Wall Street suffered its worst day yesterday in more than eight months as spike in Treasury yields dampened the appeal for riskier assets. The 10-year Treasury yield has climbed about 17 bps over the past seven days. This has sparked fears of a faster-than-expected rates hike that would lead to tighter financial conditions and thus derail economic growth (read: Yields Are Soaring: Here’s How to Short Treasury With ETFs).
When interest rates rise, bonds become more viable and attractive alternatives to equities. Additionally, the U.S.- China trade war, Hurricane Michael’s landfall in Florida and mid-term election in November added to the woes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 suffered their worst one-day slump since Feb. 8, falling more than 3% each while the Nasdaq Composite Index logged in its worst one-day decline of 4.1% since June 2016. Notably, the S&P 500 marks the longest losing streak in two years and all of 11 sectors closed down.
With this slide, the Nasdaq shed 8% in the first eight sessions of the fourth quarter, representing its worst start to a quarter since the first three months of 2016 and the worst start to a fourth quarter since 2008, per Dow Jones Market Data. The Dow Jones tumbled 3.3% reflecting the worst start to a fourth quarter (read: 7 Leveraged/Inverse ETFs Off to a Strong Start in October).
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