Stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday, with the major averages all moving to the downside after ending the previous session narrowly mixed.
Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is down 176.09 points or 0.5 percent at 33,821.56, the Nasdaq is down 139.58 points or 1.0 percent at 13,394.16 and the S&P 500 is down 35.47 points or 0.8 percent at 4,337.73.
A renewed increase by treasury yields is weighing on Wall Street, as the yield on the benchmark ten-year note is moving higher for the fourth straight session.
With the recent advance, the ten-year yield has reached a new sixteen-year high amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
Airline stocks are seeing substantial weakness on the day, resulting in a 4.2 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in three years.
United Airlines (UAL) has led the sector lower, plunging by 8.6 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results but providing disappointing guidance of the current quarter.
Significant weakness is also visible among steel stocks, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index tumbling by 2.8 percent to a three-month intraday low.
Financial, housing and biotechnology stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of September.
The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 7.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.358 million in September after plunging by 12.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.269 million in August.
Economists had expected housing starts to jump to a rate of 1.380 million from the 1.283 million originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said building permits tumbled by 4.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.475 million in September after surging by 6.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.541 million in August.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to decrease to a rate of 1.450 million from the 1.543 million originally reported for the previous month.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ended the day just above the unchanged line, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has slumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.9 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the downward move seen over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 6.4 basis points at 4.911 percent.
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