Stock indexes on Wall Street ended mostly lower Wednesday after another choppy day of trading as the market heads toward its fourth monthly loss this year.
The S&P 500 ended 0.1% lower after shifting between small gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.3% gain, while the Nasdaq composite slipped less than 0.1%.
Trading has been volatile all week amid growing signs the economy could be in for a recession under the pressure of stubbornly high inflation and sharply higher interest rates.
Investors snapped up U.S. government bonds, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, fell to 3.10% from 3.20% late Tuesday, a big move.
“Lower yields because we’ve got more economic risk is not a good thing for the market,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at All Star Charts. “It’s on the bulls to prove that they can sustain some strength beyond a few days or a one-week rally.”