U.S. stocks were on pace for back-to-back losses on Wednesday, starting a new month on a downbeat tone after a rough February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.01% was down about 56 points in the final hour of trade, or 0.2%, near 32,598, after briefly turning positive in earlier trade. The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.43% was off 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.
65% was 0.8% lower, according to FactSet data. Bond yields also were on the rise, keeping pressure on stocks, as several Federal Reserve speakers reiterated the need for higher interest rates to tame stubbornly elevated levels of inflation. The 10-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD10Y, 4.006% was back to 4%, while the 2-year Treasury TMUBMUSD02Y, 4.891% was near 4.89%, or around the highest since 2007.