Tech stocks settled sharply lower on Tuesday, dragging the major indexes with them as the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield surged to its highest level since June. The Dow lost 569 points, while the S&P 500 registered substantial losses, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq had its worst day since March. Meanwhile, Wall Street's fear gauge -- the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) -- logged its best day since May. A budget stalemate in Congress is weighing on investor sentiment, and could lead to a government shutdown, should lawmakers fail to reach an agreement by the end of the week. Comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also stoked fears, after he noted inflation could last longer than initially anticipated.
The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 34,299.99) fell 569.4 points or 1.6% for the day. Chevron (CVX) paced the gainers with a 0.3% pop, while Microsoft (MSFT) fell to the bottom, shedding 3.6%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,352.63) dropped 90.5 points or 2% for the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 14,546.68 ) shaved 423.3 points or 2.8% for the day.
Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 23.25) added 4.5 points or 23.9% for the day.
OIL SNAPS WIN STREAK, GOLD FALLS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN 7 WEEKS
Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday to snap a five-day win streak, pulling away from last session's nearly three-year highs. The tech selloff sparked by rising U.S. Treasury yields weighed on the commodity. Plus, investors are worries about near-term energy demand amid a drop in U.S. consumer confidence. In turn, November-dated crude shed 16 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $75.29 a barrel.
Gold prices settled lower as well, falling to their lowest level in seven weeks. A pop in U.S. Treasury yields was also partially responsible for the yellow metal's drop, while a stronger U.S. dollar did not help matters. As a result, December-dated gold fell $14.50, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,737.50 an ounce.
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