Bond uptick spooks US stocks at open

NEW YORK: An uptick in US Treasury rates led to a mixed opening in Wall Street trading on Wednesday, with traders leery of anything that could sap momentum from the markets.

The US 10-year Treasury bond climbed slightly to 1.48 percent, setting the stage for an unenthusiastic opening in New York, after major indices fell the day prior.

"The stock market is struggling to figure out which way is up and which way is down; hence, it has been moving mostly sideways," Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com said.

About 25 minutes into trading, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 0.3 percent to 31,499.65.

However the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.5 percent to 13,295.63, while the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 3,866.71.

Payroll services firm ADP reported weaker-than-expected private sector hiring in February before the markets opened, but traders are looking ahead to Friday's government employment report, which could show whether the US economy is recovering as Covid-19 vaccines become widespread.

Also on the calendar is a Thursday speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and ongoing negotiations in Washington over a new US stimulus bill backed by President Joe Biden.

ExxonMobil rose 0.5 percent after outlining a future that relies on both continued fossil fuel use and significant carbon capture and storage technology to mitigate climate change.