U.S. stocks are mixed as Treasury yields spike

By Liz Moyer 

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed as Treasury yields spiked on the outlook for higher for longer interest rates.

At 11:23 ET (16:23 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 119 points or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.5%.

The 10-year Treasury yield surged above 4% and reached a four-month high as investors bet on the Federal Reserve to keep policy restrictive. And the 2-year Treasury reached 4.94%, a 15-year high, according to Reuters.

Fresh data on the labor market is fanning the flames. Initial jobless claims fell again last week as the labor market continues to show surprising strength.

The Fed is watching the tightness in the labor market as one of the factors it is using to decide on policy. Most expect at least two more rate hikes from the Fed, of a quarter of a percentage point each in March and May. Some futures traders have started to bet on a hike of a half-point.

Fed officials speaking in recent days have emphasized the need to continue raising rates to cool inflation. Another key data point is coming next week, when the government releases the jobs report for February.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were down 7.1% after investor day was light on details about a potential new lower cost vehicle, though CEO Elon Musk did confirm the company will build a new factory in Mexico.

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares jumped over 12% after the business software maker forecast optimistic first quarter revenue and boosted its share buyback to $20 billion.

Silvergate Capital Corp. (NYSE:SI) tumbled 44.79% after the crypto lender delayed its annual report, saying it was analyzing its ability to operate as a going concern.

Oil was rising. Crude Oil WTI Futures was up 0.7% to $78.25 a barrel and Brent Oil Futures crude was up 0.5% to $84.75 a barrel. Gold Futures fell 0.1% to $1843.