Live Markets - US stocks erase Wednesday rally as upward bond yield pressure resumes

Walmart WMT.N missed same-store sales growth estimates for the first time in years as shoppers pulled back on spending in the face of rising gasoline prices. The retail giant's shares slid 8.8%. Given this drag, consumer staples .SPLRCS is the weakest S&P 500 .SPX sector on the day.

The S&P retail index .SPXRT is dipping 1.3%.

Energy stocks .SPNY were clearly the early favorites, boosted to the top with an assist from rising crude prices CLc1, which hit a three-week high due to supply concerns arising from the U.S.-Iran war stalemate.

Besides staples, consumer discretionary .SPLRCD and homebuilder stocks .SPCOMHOME are among weaker groups on the day, weighed down by rising interest rates and inflation fears.

On the economic front, jobless claims landed below expectations, while the Philly Fed Business Index expanded at its fastest pace since April 2021.

Here's where things stood as of 9:43 a.m. ET:

Wall Street walked back Wednesday's gains in early Thursday trading, as bond yields resumed their climb, Walmart reported a rare sales miss and the U.S. debt burden crossed the $40 trillion mark.

All three major U.S. stock indexes are lower in the opening minutes, with the Dow .DJI off 0.6%, suffering the worst of it.

While the U.S. Treasury Department's surprise bond buyback plans had a cooling effect on the worldwide rise in long-term borrowing costs, worries about inflation and ballooning government debt persist, even as the United States' debt topped $40 trillion for the first time.