Dow, Nasdaq close lower as Treasury yields hit fresh highs

4:20pm: S&P 500 retreats for third straight session

Stocks closed lower for a third straight session on Tuesday as rising Treasury yields and lingering inflation concerns continued to pressure equities, pulling the major indexes further away from their recent record highs.

The Dow Jones fell 322 points, or 0.7%, to 49,364, while the S&P 500 dropped 49 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq slid 220 points, or 0.8%, as weakness in technology shares weighed on sentiment.

Investors kept a close eye on the bond market, where Treasury yields continued climbing. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield tested the key 4.6% level, marking its highest point in about a year, while the 30-year Treasury yield surged toward 5.2%, its highest since 2007. The sharp move higher in yields has renewed concerns that borrowing costs could remain elevated for longer if inflation proves sticky.

The recent tech rally also appeared to lose momentum, with traders taking a more cautious stance ahead of a major catalyst for the market later this week: Nvidia is reporting earnings after Wednesday’s closing bell. Investors are looking for fresh signals on AI demand and whether the chip giant can continue to justify lofty expectations that have helped power much of the market’s gains this year.

3:45pm: Proactive news headlines

• Tiziana Life Sciences Ltd (NASDAQ:TLSA) received a price target increase to $9 from $8 by Lucid Capital Markets, which reiterated a “Buy” rating and highlighted growing confidence in its foralumab program for neuroinflammatory conditions.
• NanoViricides (NYSE-A:NNVC) completed a registered direct offering that raised about $2 million in gross proceeds to support its antiviral drug development efforts.
• Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR, FRA:5ILA) closed a registered direct offering with institutional investors, raising roughly $30 million in gross proceeds before expenses.
• Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd (TSX-V:MON, OTC:MXTRF) began mobilization for a Phase 1 diamond drilling program at its Elvira gold project in Chile’s Maricunga Gold Belt.
• TNR Gold Corp (TSX-V:TNR, FRA:TNW, OTC:TRRXF) noted progress at McEwen Copper’s Los Azules project, where Societe Generale was appointed sole financial advisor for project debt financing, a key step toward development.
• Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd (TSX-V:GMG, OTCQX:GMGMF) signed a global distribution agreement with Curran International for its THERMAL-XR coating technology targeting oil, gas, and LNG applications.
• Thistle Resources (TSX-V:TRCG) began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange and reported high-grade antimony, silver, and gold results from trench assays at its Brunswick project in New Brunswick.
• Standard Uranium Ltd (TSX-V:STND, OTCQB:STTDF, FRA:9SU0) completed a financing that raised approximately $900,000 through the issuance of units under a listed issuer financing exemption.
• Aftermath Silver Ltd (TSX-V:AAG, OTCQX:AAGFF, FRA:FLM1) reported high-grade silver, copper, and manganese drill results from its Phase 3 program at the Berenguela project in Peru.
• OKYO Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ:OKYO) expanded its Scientific Advisory Board with the appointment of Dr. Marta Sacchetti to support its ophthalmology-focused clinical programs.
• 1911 Gold Corp (TSX-V:AUMB, OTCQB:AUMBF, FRA:2KY) initiated drift development at its True North Mine in Manitoba as it advances toward test mining and potential production plans.
• Power Metallic Mines Inc (TSX-V:PNPN, FRA:IVV1, OTCQB:PNPNF) entered a strategic alliance with Amaar United Mining Company to pursue joint mining license opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
• Immunic Inc (NASDAQ:IMUX, FRA:10VA) appointed biotech veteran Michael Bonney as chair of its board of directors to support its neurology-focused pipeline.
• Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NYSE-A:OPTT) expanded deployments of its PowerBuoy systems and autonomous surface vehicles across US defense and research applications.
• BioHarvest Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:BHST, FRA:8MV0) expanded its collaboration with Tate & Lyle to develop multiple plant-based sweetener molecules for food and beverage applications.
• BioVie Inc (NASDAQ:BIVI, NASDAQ:BIVIW) completed the final patient visit in its Phase 2 Parkinson’s trial, with topline results expected in the third quarter.

2:40pm: Market movers

• Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell more than 3% as investors reacted to legal setbacks, a price increase on its top-selling vehicle and concerns that a potential SpaceX listing could divert capital away from the EV maker.
• Amer Sports Inc (NYSE:AS) shares climbed nearly 5% after the company posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter revenue and earnings and raised its full-year guidance.
• NanoViricides (NYSE-A:NNVC) completed a registered direct offering that raised about $2 million in gross proceeds to support its antiviral drug development programs.
• Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR, FRA:5ILA) closed a registered direct offering with institutional investors that generated about $30 million in gross proceeds before expenses.
• Tiziana Life Sciences Ltd (NASDAQ:TLSA) reported updated data showing its intranasal foralumab treatment remained well tolerated in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, with signs of stabilized disability and reduced fatigue.
• Thor Explorations Ltd (TSX-V:THX, AIM:THX, OTC:THXPF, FRA:T2X) shares rose after the gold miner reported stronger first-quarter earnings, helped by higher realized gold prices despite lower sales volumes from its Segilola mine in Nigeria.

1:25pm: Tesla faces headwinds

Tesla shares fell more than 3% on Tuesday, weighed down by a cluster of pressures that have been building for days.

A successful lawsuit over Full Self-Driving promises, an unfavorable verdict in Elon Musk's case against OpenAI, and an Australian court's criticism of Tesla's cooperation in a vehicle defects lawsuit all hit sentiment.

As well, a Model Y price hike raised fresh demand concerns, while weak first-quarter deliveries and guidance for negative free cash flow through 2026 added to the cautious mood.

And of course looming over all of it is the upcoming SpaceX IPO, which analysts say could pull investor capital away from Tesla.

12:15pm: Higher yields increase pressure 

US equities extended losses Tuesday as investors turned more cautious following last week’s record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, according to Paolo Broccardo, CEO at BankPro.

Broccardo said markets are pulling back on profit-taking and lingering macroeconomic concerns, while fragile geopolitical tensions in the Middle East risk keeping oil prices and US Treasury yields elevated amid ongoing uncertainty over Iran.

“Higher yields could increase pressure on equities as tighter financial conditions could weigh on valuations, particularly in growth sectors,” Broccardo wrote.

“In this regard, monetary policy is increasingly expected to lean toward more tightness, with forecasts pointing to a potential rate hike next year. The latter could further weigh on risk appetite in addition to the impact of elevated oil prices on economic growth.”

11:05am: Bond selloff deepens

US Treasury yields climbed sharply on Thursday, with the 30-year yield rising to 5.177% — its highest level since 2007 — as investors continued to reassess the outlook for inflation, interest rates and government borrowing costs.

At the same time, labor market data showed some resilience, with ADP weekly employment increasing by 42,250, up from the previous reading of 33,000, pointing to continued strength in hiring despite concerns about slowing economic growth.

10am: Nasdaq semiconductors lead early decline 

Selling dominated early trading in New York on Tuesday, with tech stocks in the firing line.  

The Dow Jones and S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, with the more tech-packed Nasdaq down 0.6%. The small cap Russell 2000 is faring the worst, down 1.4%. 

The biggest fallers on the Nasdaq 100 are mostly semiconductor and tech stocks, with chipmaker Qualcomm down 3.3%, followed by the likes of Broadcom, Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA and AMD all falling more than 2%.

Hard-drive makers Seagate and Western Digital also weakened, with the selling spreading into big technology names as Alphabet, Amazon and Tesla also dropped.

On the S&P, fallers were led by cyclical and consumer-facing stocks, as investors worried that higher oil prices and borrowing costs could hit demand.

Vaccine maker Moderna was down 4.5%, with cruise operator Carnival, retailer Dollar General, lithium producer Albemarle and building materials supplier Martin Marietta Materials weakening most.

8.15am: Nasdaq futures in the red

Wall Street futures were heading deeper into the red ahead of Tuesday's opening bell, as investors remained unconvinced about reports on the latest US-Iran diplomacy efforts.

Futures tracking the Nasdaq 100 pointed to an 0.8% drop, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.4% and those for the Dow Jones down 0.3%.

This followed a mixed session at the start of the week, when the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.5% to a little below 26,091, the S&P ended down around five points at 7,403 and the Dow rose 0.3% to just over 49,686. 

Investors remained focused on oil prices, inflation and rising Treasury yields after Donald Trump claimed he had called off planned strikes against Iran following appeals from Gulf allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

However, Trump also warned the US military remained prepared for “a full, large scale assault of Iran” if negotiations failed.

The prospects for a breakthrough seemed dim, with Iran’s Tasnim news agency saying Tehran viewed Washington’s demands as “unrealistic”, while Axios reported US officials believed Iran’s latest proposal fell short.

“It looks like markets no longer appear to be taking Donald Trump entirely at his word,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com.

“It is unlikely we will see any meaningful moves against prevailing trends until we get a real breakthrough in negotiations.”

Front-month WTI crude oil futures remained above $108 a barrel, while 10-year Treasury yields continued to hover above 4.6%,, weighing particularly heavily on technology and semiconductor shares.

The US economic calendar is relatively light over the coming sessions, meaning geopolitical headlines are "likely to remain the dominant market driver", said Razaqzada.

He suggested investors are keeping an eye on the Japanese yen as it could impact the dollar indirectly. 

"There will be some attention on the G7 summit in Paris, although expectations for any market-moving breakthroughs remain limited."

Investors are also able to look forward to upcoming IPOs of OpenAI and SpaceX, after Elon Musk's case against the AI company he co-founded was dismissed on Monday. 

This removed the last significant obstacle between Sam Altman and what is expected to be a $1 trillion initial public offering later this year.