US stocks swing as the bond market, oil prices keep up the pressure

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks swung on Wall Street Thursday amid pressure from the highest bond yields in almost two decades and another rise in crude oil prices.

A morning dip for major indexes turned into an unsteady afternoon as oil prices jumped, eased and then regained ground. The bond market, meanwhile, continues applying pressure to stocks.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1% in afternoon trading, after it had briefly regained ground from a morning decline. The index is headed for its third day of declines after climbing to the brink of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 153 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:14 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%.

Stocks have slowed under the weight of higher yields in the bond market, which make borrowing money more expensive for everyone. That includes discouraged people trying to keep up with high inflation, businesses wanting to build data centers for artificial-intelligence technology and the U.S. government needing to cover the massive gap between its spending and revenue.

Yields at their highest levels in years are slowing the overall economy while also undercutting prices for stocks and other investments. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed again Thursday, to 5.16% from 5.11% late Wednesday.

It’s back to where it was in 2007 and up sharply from its 3.97% level before the war with Iran sent oil prices much higher. The price for a barrel of Brent crude in the most actively traded part of the market rose another 2.7% Thursday to $100.80. Prices have been volatile throughout the day.

Higher oil prices have helped push up the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline to $4.48 from less than $4.10 a month ago and from $3.16 a year earlier, according to AAA.