By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Praveen Paramasivam
(Reuters) -Wall Street was set for a subdued open on Friday as U.S. Treasury yields surged at the end of a volatile week marked by concerns around aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve to tame inflation and the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Some growth and technology stocks slipped in premarket trading after taking a hit this week due to a surge in yields as investors focused on the pace and scope of the Fed’s plans to reduce its balance sheet. [US/]
Shares in Tesla Inc, Nvidia Corp and Microsoft Corp inched down about 0.5% as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit 2.71%, the highest in over three years.
“As Fed policy turns hawkish and rates move higher, not only do equity valuations typically get reset lower, but the groups that tend to suffer the most are the high multiple growth stocks,” said Sean Bandazian, senior investment analyst for Cornerstone Wealth.
The three main indexes looked set to end the week lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq the worst hit after comments from Fed officials raised concerns about rapid interest rate hikes causing an economic slowdown.
Bank of America strategists warned in a weekly research note the macro-economic picture was deteriorating fast and could push the U.S. economy into recession.
While markets have rebounded significantly since the February lows hit in the wake of the Ukraine war, volatility gauges have picked up this week as a bond market rout and fresh sanctions against Russia kept investors on edge.
The European Union formally adopted its fifth package of sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, including bans on the import of coal, wood, chemicals and other products.
Lenders JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc rose about 0.5% each.
Big U.S. banks, which kick off the first-quarter results season next week, are expected to show a sharp decline in quarterly earnings from a year earlier, when they benefited from exceptionally strong dealmaking and trading, and funds set aside for loan losses being released.
At 08:57 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 62 points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.25 points, or 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 14.5 points, or 0.1%.
Spirit Airlines Inc rose 1.5% after saying it will start talks with JetBlue Airways Corp on its $3.6-billion unsolicited offer. JetBlue shares climbed 1.3%.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)