US stocks dip as banks and energy companies fall
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are declining Friday morning as investors again look for safer places to put their money. Business technology company Hewlett Packard Enterprises is falling after it announced weak sales. Bond prices are dropping and yields are rising. That’s sending interest rates lower, which hurts banks. High-dividend stocks are rising.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 56 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 20,754 as of 11:35 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 6 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,357. The Nasdaq composite sank 16 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5,819. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller companies, slid 4 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,390.
The blue-chip Dow average has risen for 10 days in a row. Other major indexes are mixed this week.
BONDS: Bond prices sank again. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slid to 2.31 per cent from 2.39 per cent. Lower bond yields push interest rates lower, which means banks will make less money on mortgages and other loans. Wells Fargo slipped 93 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to $57.56 and Bank of America fell 34 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $24.24. Investment banks and insurers traded lower as well.