US Stocks extend losses

The US stocks closed lower on Monday, 22 February 2021, as investors continued to book recent profit amid concerns about the impact of the recent increase in treasury yields and on caution ahead of Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 27.37 points, or 0.09%, to 31,521.69. The S&P500 index fell 30.21 points, or 0.77%, to 3,876.50. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 341.41 points, or 2.46%, to 13,533.05.

The sell-off came as the yield on the benchmark ten-year note saw further upside on the day, reaching its highest closing level in a year. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note is around 1.37%, its highest in a year, having doubled in the space of six months.

US lawmakers will debate on President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan act this week. Also, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell will deliver testimony to the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees and investors are expected to look for any potential changes to the central bank's dovish outlook in recent months.

Shares of Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc, Tesla Inc and Amazon.com Inc resumed their slide from the previous week, falling between 0.9% and 5%.

ECONOMIC NEWS REPORTS: In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of January. The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.5% in January after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4% in December.

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