U.S. Stocks Remain Mostly Lower In Afternoon Trading

Stocks moved mostly lower early in the session on Friday and continue to see notable weakness in afternoon trading. The major averages have climbed off their worst levels of the day but remain firmly in negative territory.

Currently, the Nasdaq is down 131.53 points or 1.0 percent at 13,054.65, on pace to end the session at its lowest closing level in over four months. The S&P 500 is also down 33.56 points or 0.8 percent at 4,244.44, while the Dow is down 162.41 points or 0.5 percent at 33,251.76.

The continued weakness on Wall Street comes amid ongoing concerns about the recent surge in treasury yields to sixteen-year highs.

Overnight, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note climbed above 5 percent for the first time since July 2007 but has given back ground since then.

The recent advance by yields reflects continued worries about the outlook for interest rates, with the Federal Reserve signaling rates will remain higher for longer than previously anticipated.

During a speech on Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell described inflation as “still too high” and warned additional monetary policy tightening may be needed.

Powell also reiterated Fed officials are willing to keeping policy restrictive until they are confident inflation is on a downward path.

A report on personal income and spending in the month of September is likely to be in focus next week, as it includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Fed.

Sector News

Banking stocks continue to see considerable weakness on the day, dragging the KBW Bank Index down by 2.5 percent to a five-month intraday low.

Substantial weakness also remains visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent slump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

A decrease by shares of Schlumberger (SLB) is weighing on the sector after the company reported third quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but weaker than expected revenues.

Steel, computer hardware and software stocks also continue to see notable…