U.S. stocks slumped lower in early Tuesday trading, while Treasury yields continued to weaken following yesterday's bond market selloff, as investors pared bets on Federal Reserve rate hikes while bracing for a busy slate of corporate earnings on Wall Street.
Updated at 9:41 AM EDT
Soft start
The S&P 500 was marked 27 points, or 0.47% lower in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq falling 100 points, or 0.54%.
The Dow was last marked 155 points lower while the mid-cap Russell 2000 index slipped 6 points, or 0.26%.
Treasury yields are easing a bit, with 10-years pegged at 4.174% and 2-year paper trading at 4.025%.
Updated at 9:15 AM EDT
On your bike
Peloton (PTON) shares are getting a boost from a report that the connected fitness group' is looking to grow its exercise bike sales through a tie-in with discount retail giant Costco COST.
CNBC said the partnership will see Costco selling the BIKE+ for $1,999 online, and $2,199 in-store, as the group seeks to attract younger and wealthier customers.
Peloton shares were marked 5.5% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $5.77 each.
Updated at 8:18 AM EDT
Walmart delivers
Walmart (WMT) shares edged higher in early trading after the retail giant unveiled plans to launch a same-day pharmacy service delivery program from its 4,600 nationwide stores that include a pharmacy unit.
The move could prove to be another blow to companies such as CVS Health (CVS) and Walgreens (WBA) , which are closing stores and generating thinner profits amid a big shift in Medicare Advantage payouts.
“Helping customers solve missions is core to everything we do. By combining Pharmacy Delivery into a single order, we're strengthening our commitment to providing everything they need, whenever and wherever they need it,” said Tom Ward, executive vice president and chief eCommerce officer, Walmart U.S. “If you’re sick, we can deliver the necessary medicine along with everything else you need to feel better: cough drops, a heating pad, blanket and orange juice. Walmart’s size, resources and expertise set it apart from other retailers.”
Walmart shares were marked 0.12% higher at $80.91 each, while CVS slipped 0.1% and Walgreens fell 0.6%.
Updated at 6:42 AM EDT
Lots of movers
A trio of earning hit the wires in premarket, with General Motors (GM) posting stronger-than-expected third quarter profits and issuing a robust near-term outlook, 3M topping Street forecasts and GE Aerospace posting mixed numbers with modestly light revenues.
General Motors shares were marked 2.9% higher in premarket trading at $50.35 each while rebounding 3M, which is up 48% for the year, added 2.35%. GE shares, meanwhile, slipped 1.15%.
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended mixed on Monday, with a modest decline for the S&P 500, a larger pullback for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a gain for the tech-focused Nasdaq as bond markets returned to their recent volatility.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes yields, which move in the opposite direction of prices, rose 11 basis points on the session, while adding another in overnight trading, and were last marked at a three month high of 4.208% heading into the New York session.
Merrill Lynch's MOVE index, which tracks fixed income volatility and is known as the 'VIX for bonds', is trading at the highest levels of the year and is up nearly 48.6% from its early July lows.
Messaging from Federal Reserve officials that suggested a slower pace of rate cuts, election uncertainty and the prospect of higher deficits regardless of who wins the White House and renewed inflation concerns tied to the outperforming economy have all combined to drive yields higher.
Bond market volatility has returned with a vengeance, taking benchmark 10-year note yields to the highest levels in three months.
The moves are sapping risk sentiment in markets around the world, and driving the dollar index to multi-month highs against a basket of its global peers.
That's being played out in this mornings premarket session, where futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a 28 point pullback, with the Dow called 200 points lower and the Nasdaq poised of a 130 point decline.
A heavy slate of earnings is expected throughout the session, with 3M (MMM) , GE Aerospace (GE) , Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Verizon (VZ) reporting before the opening bell and Texas Instruments (TXN) updating after the close.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was marked 0.38% lower in early Frankfurt trading, although software group SAP hit a fresh all-time high following stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.64% in London.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.39% as investors took risk off the table ahead of this weekend's national elections and the yen weakened to 151, a three month low, against the U.S. dollar.
The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, was marked 0.77% lower into the close of trading.
