U.S. stocks declined midday Wednesday, with the Nasdaq 100 and the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQ) slipping 0.4% to 31,098 and $756.20, respectively. The broader market selloff was driven by climbing Treasury yields, which reached fresh 24-year highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9%, or 465 points, to 51,056. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 7,788. The underperforming Russell 2000 lost 1.4% to 2,792. The sharp rise in bond yields was highlighted by the 30-year Treasury yield, which gained 5 basis points to 5.70%, while the 10-year yield rose to 5.32%, its highest level since 2002.
Healthcare was the only sector showing strength, with the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLV) climbing 1.7% and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) adding 1.1%. Conversely, the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLI) was the weakest sector, down 2.3%. Individual stock movers included Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMT), which advanced 5.0% following deal news with AstraZeneca, and QXO Inc. (NYSE: QXO), which sank 10.0%.
