US stocks closed in a sea of red, but off of their session lows, as investors digested the possibility that an interest rate cut will come later than hoped.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed down about 1%, or nearly 400 points, setting the blue-chip index back from a bid to reach the key 40,000 level. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) shed about 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also slid nearly 1%.
US bonds continued to struggle, as the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury (^TNX) rose to around 4.36%, hovering at its highest levels of 2024. Oil also jumped with crude prices (CL=F) rising to trade above $85 a barrel.
Stocks have made a lackluster start to the second quarter after racking up a string of records in the first months of 2024. Hotter-than-expected manufacturing readings, which came alongside increases in prices paid, have given weight to growing doubts the Federal Reserve will cut rates in the first half of the year as the US economy shows surprising resilience.
In economic news, the new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed job openings were marginally higher in February while hiring ticked up slightly.
A pullback in health insurer stocks came after US regulators surprised the industry by failing to boost payments for private Medicare plans as usual. Humana (HUM) shares fell more than 13%, while CVS (CVS) shed roughly 7%.
In single stock moves, Tesla (TSLA) stock stumbled about 5% after the company delivered fewer cars than expected in the first quarter.
