US stocks close lower amid rising Treasury yields

US stocks ended lower as investors continued to sift through the rising Treasury yields.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday lost 54.95 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 24,713.98. The S&P 500 erased 2.33 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 2,720.13, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 15.82 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 7,382.47.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed over 3.1 per cent on Thursday, the first time since 2011, while the two-year yield hovered around its highest levels in a decade.

The yield, a barometer for mortgage rates and other financial instruments, has jumped recently amid market fears of rising inflation, which sparked investors' speculation for more rate-hikes later this year.

The probability that the US central bank will raise its benchmark rate a fourth time this year went up to a record of 51.9 per cent on Thursday, according to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's FedWatch tool.

In corporate news, US multinational company Cisco Systems, Inc. reported weaker-than-expected sales for its key services business on Wednesday after market closing. Shares of the company ended 3.76 percent lower on Thursday, the worst performer on the Dow.

--IANS

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