US Stocks-Wall St indexes fall to two-week lows as rising bond yields, disappointing Walmart results drag

Another negative, said Mona Mahajan, head of investment strategy at Edward Jones, was U.S. crude oil CLc1 trading above $87, touching its highest level since late July. She also pointed to upward pressure on bond yields as a further weight on stocks.

Wall Street indexes had risen on Wednesday after the U.S. Treasury Department said it would spend more than double the expected amount on buying back bonds in a bid to slow gains in bond yields. On Thursday, however, stocks declined as yields resumed their advance.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he may again increase the volume of Treasury bonds the government will repurchase. Yields on the 30-year US30YT=RR and 10-year US10YT=RR bonds pared gains briefly after his comments, before resuming their upward path.

Separately, data showed the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits slipped last week, suggesting the labor market remained stable.