Dow tumbles nearly 300 points as stocks fall for a third straight day and yields pop: Live updates

Stocks slid for a third session on Thursday as investors digested the latest round of earnings and economic data, and as rates jumped to fresh highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 290.91 points, or 0.84%, to close at 34,474.83. It was the first time the 30-stock Dow closed below the 50-day moving average since June 1, a potential warning sign of a downtrend.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 0.77% and ended the session at 4,370.36. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.17%, falling to 13,316.93.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield reached its highest point since October 2022 on Thursday. Rates are continuing to run higher after the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes, released Wednesday, showed the central bank remains concerned about upside risk to inflation.

Walmart declined more than 2% even after reporting an earnings and revenue beat in the fiscal second quarter. The company also raised its full-year guidance and underscored strength in grocery and online sales.

On a positive note, computer networking company Cisco Systems gained more than 3% on a better-than-expected quarterly earnings report.

Stocks have been suffering through a rocky August, with the major averages headed toward another losing week and in negative territory for the month. The broad market index is down more than 4% in August.

“We’ve felt after the strong rally in the first half, and even continuing into July, that some caution was warranted,” said Commonwealth Financial Network portfolio manager Chris Fasciano. “So certainly what’s happening now [isn’t] unexpected, and a bit of pullback could ultimately ended up being a being healthy for the market in general.”

Jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 12 fell from the previous period and came in slightly under the Dow Jones estimate. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve also reported an uptick in its manufacturing index in August.