NEW YORK, April 19 ― US stocks closed lower yesterday after a session which saw all three benchmarks slip between positive and negative territory, as investors contrasted Bank of America's positive earnings with surging bond yields ahead of further earnings cues this week.
With European markets also remaining shut yesterday, this listless trading contributed to the topsy-turvy session. Bank of America rounded out earnings season for the big Wall Street banks, reporting strong growth in its consumer lending business, although its investment banking unit took a hit from a slowdown in deal making.Apple Inc slipped 0.1 per cent as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 2.86 per cent, after hitting 2.884 per cent earlier yesterday, the highest since December 2018.
Five of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by the energy index which advanced 1.5 per cent. Crude prices gained and Brent topped US$114 a barrel at one point on outages in Libya deepening concerns over tight global supply. Charles Schwab Corp fell 9.4 per cent, its biggest one-day drop since March 2020, after the financial services company missed quarterly profit estimates.