Pre-Market Pulse 9th September – Stocks finish week down on higher bond yields

Overnight – Stocks finish week down on higher bond yields

Equities ended higher Friday, but that wasn’t enough to prevent a weekly loss as Treasury yields racked up gains for the week amid fears that the Fed may have to persist with higher for longer rates.

Stronger-than-expected economic data, including Thursday’s initial jobless claims reading for last week that was lower than expected, has raised concerns that Fed will keep interest rates at elevated levels for longer than previously expected.

This has disproportionately impacted the richly valued tech stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite index down over 2% this week, falling for four straight days.

The Federal Reserve is still widely expected to hold steady on rates when it meets later this month.

Energy stocks led the market higher, rising 1% as oil prices continued to be buoyed by recent supply cut extensions by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Apple closed higher on the day, but ended the week 6% lower as worries about China-led demand weakness weighed ahead of the iPhone 15 launch next week. China reportedly expanded its ban of iPhones to local government workers and state-owned companies.