Stock Market Today: Dow Tumbles Again as Tech Slumps, Yields Rise

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The stock market was falling Wednesday, as volatility that has characterized this week continued while investors look to the U.S. jobs report Friday as a possible source of stability.

Technology stocks were under particular pressure as bond yields rose.

Futures for the

Dow Jones Industrial Average
indicated an open 370 points lower after the index seesawed this week—dropping more than 300 points Monday before rebounding a similar amount Tuesday to close at 34,314. The

S&P 500
was headed for a similarly weak open. Futures for the

Nasdaq Composite
were off1.5% as

Apple

(AAPLE), Facebook (FB), and Microsoft (MSFT) each declined 1.6%, while Amazon (AMZN) slipped 1%, and Alphabet (GOOGL) dipped 1.5%.

The forces driving markets remained largely unchanged. Investors fretted about issues including inflation, a global energy crunch—wherein surging oil prices further add to global inflation fears—supply-chain pressures, the U.S. debt ceiling, and the future of central bank stimulus.

Analysts noted the market is looking ahead to the U.S. jobs report Friday, which measures nonfarm payrolls, as a possible source of stability amid a week of volatility. The Federal Reserve has indicated that it will closely watch employment indicators as it considers slowing its program of monthly asset purchases, which add liquidity to markets.

“The choppy week continues as markets continue to chase their tails in a light data week,” said Jeffrey Halley, an analyst at broker Oanda.

“Despite the best hopes of the perpetual mega-bulls, the path of least resistance is lower at the moment. I am expecting the markets to continue tying themselves in knots over the next few sessions until we, hopefully, get a decisive nonfarm payrolls print,” Halley added. “It will allow some clarity on the Federal Reserve taper path and positioning appropriately.”

Bond yields pushed higher, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rising to 1.55%. Higher bond yields tend to hit technology stocks particularly hard, as elevated yields typically discount the present value of future earnings. Many tech stocks have high valuations based on big profits many years down the road.

Overseas, Tokyo’s

Nikkei 225
fell 1.1% as investors grappled with the possible impact of new prime minister Fumio Kishida’s economic…