U.S. stocks were on course for modest weekly losses after waffling Friday as government bond yields ticked lower.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.4%. All three indexes were poised to post weekly losses of less than 1%.
In the bond market, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield edged down to 1.713% after ending Thursday at 1.730%, its highest since January 2020.
Markets have been choppy this week, with investors weighing brightening economic prospects on one hand and worries that interest rates will climb sooner than anticipated on the other. Investors are betting that inflation will rise as growth picks up and remains elevated long enough to force the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy. Those concerns have led to a sharp selloff in the government bond market and spurred investors to exit tech and other high-growth stocks.
“After a bit of significant selling, investors tend to lick their wounds and wake up and say: Is this a real selloff or a temporary blip in the road?” said Gregory Perdon, co-chief investment officer at private bank Arbuthnot Latham . Friday’s relatively muted moves are “indicative that investors think it is just a bump in the road.”
