Stocks Opened Lower, Bond Yields Climbed

U.S. stocks fell at open on Thursday, following a bond selloff Wednesday that sent yields to multi-year highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 98.53 points, or 0.37%, to 26,729.86. The S&P 500 was down 9.80 points, or 0.33%, to 2,915.71. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 59.90 points, or 0.75%, to 7,965.19.

Oil futures pulled back slightly from the roughly four-year highs scored a day earlier as attention remained fixed on declines in Iranian exports ahead of an approaching deadline for further U.S. sanctions on the nation. November West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $76.31 a barrel. December Brent fell 12 cents, or 0.1%, to $86.17 a barrel.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to near 3.2%, continuing to climb after hitting a seven-year high Wednesday. The 30-year yield hovered above 3.3%, having hit its highest level since 2014 the day prior.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment fell to a near 49-year low last week, according to a report Thursday from the Department of Labor. The level of seasonally adjusted jobless claims fell to 207,000 for the week ending Sept. 29, from an upwardly revised level of 215,000 for the week prior. Continuing claims fell by 13,000 to 1.65 million for the week ending Sept. 22.

Square Inc (SQ) has launched a new service that enables customers of its small-business clients to pay for purchases in installments, the company said on Thursday.

Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) raised its full year profit forecast and topped Wall Street’s estimate for second-quarter sales and profit on Thursday. Net income attributable to the company rose to $1.15 billion, or $5.87 per share, in the three months ended Aug. 31, from $501.6 million, or $2.49 per share, a year earlier.The company now sees profit between $9.60 and $9.75 per share on an adjusted basis for the year ending February 2019, compared to its previous outlook of $9.40 to $9.70 per share.