S&P 500 falls as rate hikes to their highest levels in three months

US stocks slipped on Friday as high inflation and a rebound in rates continue to weigh on investor sentiment. The S&P 500 shed 0.92%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.30%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 104 points, or 0.34%, but off lows of the day.

Yields on the 10-year and 2-year US Treasury bonds hit levels not seen since November, weighing on equities.

Energy was the biggest laggard across indexes. Albemarle and Devon Energy fell more than 10% and nearly 5%, respectively, weighing on the S&P 500.

Investors continue to worry about how the economy and equities will hold up as the Federal Reserve hikes rates to tame stubbornly high inflation. In a Friday speech, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said there’s a long way to go before the central bank reaches its target of 2% inflation.

Equity investors seem to be looking through a couple more rate hikes and looking forward to a pause. The moves came after major averages shed more than 1% on Thursday, after the Labour Department said the producer price index, an inflation metric that tracks wholesale prices, rose 0.7% last month. That was more than economists expected.