NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped in choppy trading on Thursday as jittery investors looked to remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on rising bond yields, while data pointed to a staggering recovery in the labour market.

The crucial monthly payrolls report is expected on Friday.

Wall Street’s main indexes fell in the past two sessions as a spike in US bond yields pressured high-flying tech stocks while economy-linked stocks outperformed on hopes of a new round of fiscal aid and vaccinations.

The energy sector enjoyed a 1% jump on the back of higher oil prices. Apple Inc, Tesla Inc and PayPal Holdings Inc were among the top drags on the S&P 500.

Powell is set to speak at a Wall Street Journal conference at 12:05 p.m. ET (1705 GMT) where his comments will be scrutinized for any hints of concern about last week’s jump in bond yields, in what will be his last outing before the Fed’s March 16-17 policy meeting.

At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.06 points, or 0.18%, to 31,327.15, the S&P 500 lost 5.80 points, or 0.15%, to 3,813.92 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 106.99 points, or 0.82%, to 12,890.76.—Reuters