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Business

Stock Futures Edge Down After Indexes Hit Records

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U.S. stock futures edged down Tuesday, signaling that major indexes may take a breather after signs of a rapid economic recovery powered them to record highs.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 ticked down 0.1%, a day after the benchmark gauge of large-cap stocks rose to its 17th all-time closing high of 2021. Contracts for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which on Monday reached a new peak for the 18th time this year, also slipped 0.1%. Futures for the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 index were relatively flat.

Stocks have leapt at the start of the second quarter amid optimism that government spending, vaccinations and the relaxation of restrictions are unleashing a spell of swift economic growth. A series of data have offered evidence that a rebound in activity and hiring is under way a year after the pandemic slammed the brakes on the economy. Investors are betting that sectors such as banking and mining will benefit from the reopening. Technology stocks have also climbed after wobbling at times in the first quarter.

“It looks like the U.S. [economy] has just hit the accelerator,” said Brian O’Reilly, head of market strategy for Mediolanum International Funds. The recent rally shows signs of being broad, and isn’t just concentrated in economically-sensitive sectors that suffered most from the pandemic in 2020, he added. “We’ve certainly seen a moderation in the one-way bet that was being placed until maybe the middle of March.”

The Cboe Volatility Index, which measures expected swings in the S&P 500 based on options prices, edged up to 18.04. That is near its lowest level since before the pandemic began to rattle markets in late February 2020.

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Business

Stocks Drop Despite Improved Jobs Data

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U.S. stocks remained under pressure on Thursday after fresh data indicated further recovery in the labor market.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.2% a day after the tech-heavy benchmark retreated almost 1.7% a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also down, falling almost 300 points.

Investors’ optimism has been muted in recent days by mixed signals from different parts of the economy. The government’s Covid-19 relief spending and the rollout of vaccines is helping spur economic growth. That has led to a surge in consumers’ demand for products.

But there are signs that the global rebound may be slowed by an extension of Covid-19 lockdowns and growing constraints in the supply chain for crucial products such as vaccines and electronic chips. Fresh stimulus checks have also prompted concerns that inflation will rise sharply as the economy recovers, which has curbed appetite for both government bonds and technology stocks.

“From here, you could have in aggregate flattening markets. We’re going to be looking for a new narrative,” Daniel Morris, chief market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management. “Growth could recover, value could wait, and then on the surface nothing happens. I have modest expectations for the market until we get a sense of what the next catalyst is.”

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Business

Stocks End Lower Amid Decline in Tech Shares

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up early gains Wednesday even though investors piled back into economically sensitive sectors on bets that the U.S. economy will continue to recover.

The index of blue-chip stocks ended the day near flat, down less than 0.1%, as companies ranging from American Express to Chevron to Caterpillar showed relative strength.

The S&P 500 however declined 0.6%, adding to losses it endured Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell more sharply, its losses accelerating in afternoon trading. The technology-heavy index had dropped 2% by the 4 p.m. ET close of trading.

Markets have seesawed this week as investors have continued to assess the implications of a recent climb in bond yields, which, despite edging down this week, surpassed 1.7% this month for the first time in more than a year. Money managers are also assessing the valuations on stocks after the major indexes climbed over 70% since the pandemic-fueled rout last March.

“We are now one year into this rally: We’ve seen a massive decline and a massive rally, and my sense is that markets are just going to pause for breath from here,” said Brian O’Reilly, head of market strategy for Mediolanum International Funds. “Gains are going to be much harder to come by for the rest of the year.”

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Business

Tech Shares Fall as Bond Yields Rise

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U.S. stocks fell Thursday as shares of technology companies and other high-growth stocks succumbed to another selloff in the government bond market.

Investors appeared to rethink the implications of improving growth projections, pulling the stock market into the red a day after the S&P 500 closed at a fresh record and the Dow Jones Industrial Averaged finished above 33,000 for the first time.

They initially cheered comments from Federal Reserve Chairman

Jerome Powell

who reiterated the central bank’s commitment to supporting financial markets until the economy fully recovers.

But the Fed also increased its median projections for growth and inflation based on the latest round of stimulus doled out by Congress, leading investors to re-evaluate the broader implications that level of expansion will have on pockets of the market, analysts and money managers said. That sparked another round of selling of government bonds, pushing yields to their highest level in 14 months.

“This morning, the markets woke up and decided if the Fed is going to keep policy so loose, they want higher risk premium,” said Michael Matthews, a fixed-income fund manager at Invesco.

Stock futures had started heading lower overnight after the 10-year Treasury yield, a key benchmark for lending costs, breached 1.7% for the first time since January 2020.

The S&P 500 was recently down 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average held up better, rising about 50 points to stay above 33,000.

Apple,

Amazon.com

and Google parent Alphabet all fell at least 1%. Electric car maker Tesla fell further, shedding more than 3%.

The higher yields mean borrowing costs for businesses and individuals will go up, so investors have been selling pricey tech stocks that look less valuable in a rising rate environment to load up on shares of companies poised to benefit from an economic rebound.

“It is all about inflation expectations: The fact that we are getting inflation expectations beyond the Fed’s target is spooking bond markets,” added Edward Park, chief investment officer at Brooks Macdonald.

Investors also contended with mixed economic data, suggesting that the economic recovery remains uneven.

The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rose to 770,000 in the week ended March 13, from 725,000 in the week prior. While filings for jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, has fallen from its peak last year, they remain at historically high levels.

Meanwhile, a manufacturing index from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve hit its highest level in more than three decades, suggesting activity continues to expand.

“The thing to watch is the employment numbers, and central banks are all watching that,” said Mr. Matthews. “The Fed and all central banks have decided it is better to run the economy hot, to aid the recovery, to get as low unemployment as they possibly can.”

On Thursday, investors looked to sectors like banks, airlines and energy companies, which could benefit more when social and business activity picks up. Shares of financial stocks in the S&P 500 rose 1.7%, as investors priced in the likelihood that banks could earn more on the loans they issue. Industrial companies also advanced, adding 0.8% in recent trading.

Tech stocks, meanwhile, slumped 1.7%, while the communication and consumer discretionary sectors fell around 1% each. Energy stocks, consumer staples, utilities and real-estate companies also fell.

Looking ahead, bond investors are betting that the Fed will raise interest rates within the next two years, despite data Wednesday that showed most policy makers still expect to maintain ultralow interest rates through 2023. Seven of 18 Fed officials anticipated lifting rates in 2022 or 2023, up from five in December.

Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 ticked up 0.2%.

In Asia, most major benchmarks closed higher. China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied 1.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7%.

Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com and Michael Wursthorn at Michael.Wursthorn@wsj.com

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Business

Stock Futures Signal a Pause Ahead of Fed Meeting

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U.S. stock futures wavered as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest economic outlook and any signals on interest rates and bond purchases for the next few years.

Futures tied to the broad S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were relatively flat, suggesting the benchmarks may be choppy after the market open. Both gauges posted tepid declines Tuesday, a day after closing at records. Contracts linked to the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 edged 0.3% lower Wednesday.

Federal Reserve officials, who are scheduled to release their latest economic projections at 2 p.m. ET, are likely to say they expect the labor market and inflation to rebound faster than they anticipated in December. The central bank is broadly expected to reaffirm its commitment to ultralow interest rates and bond purchases for now.

Money managers have already started pricing in a rise in inflation, leading to a selloff in government bonds, and are betting that interest rates will start climbing by the end of next year. They have also started exiting stocks that look to be too richly valued after last year’s rally.

“Markets across the board are expensive today, and that is pinned on central bank support,” said Hugh Gimber, a strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “So this whole market is very, very sensitive to changes in central bank policy.”

A dot plot of Fed policy makers’ projections could show that some officials expect a first rate increase in 2023, Mr. Gimber said. “But the key will be communication: How will they balance this modestly brighter outlook while signaling that the Fed is still there to support markets?”

In bond markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged up to 1.644%, from 1.622% Tuesday. Yields rise as the price falls. The yield has climbed sharply from this year’s low of 0.915% on Jan. 4.

Cues and signals from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at his press conference, which starts at 2:30 p.m., will be key for investors.

“This is about less dovish forecasts but still dovish communication, so Powell is really walking a tightrope,” Mr. Gimber said. “Powell will be using his comments to prevent an overreaction in the bond market.”

Investors have in recent weeks started reshaping their portfolios as economic prospects are bolstered by vast sums of government stimulus spending and the coronavirus vaccination rollout. That has driven bets on the beaten-down and economically sensitive sectors of the market, while a rally in highflying tech stocks has weakened.

Traders worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.



Photo:

Colin Ziemer/Associated Press

“Markets have basically run about as far as they can in anticipating the 2021 recovery. For the most part, the market has seen what it wants to see,” said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors. “It is all based on the interest rates right now: We are entering into an economic recovery and rates are normalizing and moving higher and that will favor those economically sensitive companies.”

Ahead of the meeting, investors will also parse data on U.S. housing starts for clues on the strength of the economy. The figures, which are due at 8:30 a.m. ET, are expected to show new residential building projects fell slightly in February from the previous month.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, fell 0.8% to $67.87 a barrel.

In overseas markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 edged 0.4% lower.

In Asia, most major indexes were little changed by the close of trading. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.6%, while the Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng and Nikkei 225 indexes all ended the day largely flat.

Write to Will Horner at William.Horner@wsj.com

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Business

Stock Futures Rise After Dow Record

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Stock futures advanced Thursday, indicating that shares of giant technology companies would push higher at the opening bell as investors awaited a fresh reading on the labor market.

Futures linked to the S&P 500 rose 0.7%. Contracts tied to the Nasdaq-100 rose 1.9%, suggesting technology stocks will rebound following muted declines for the sector on Wednesday. Futures for Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.4%, a day after the blue-chips index closed at a record high.

Investors’ demand for stocks has revived as bond markets have calmed. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes, which moves inversely to the price, slipped to 1.501% from 1.520% Wednesday, putting it on course for a third-consecutive day of declines. Yields climbed as high as 1.594% earlier this week.

Stocks have been buffeted by sharp moves in bond yields, fueled by uncertainty over how the $1.9 trillion relief bill passed by the House Wednesday will ripple through the U.S. economy.

Concerns that the size of the stimulus would lift inflation beyond the Federal Reserve’s comfort zone and trigger an increase in interest rates recently prompted yields to rise. That sapped appetite for shares in tech companies, which had benefited from an extended spell of low rates. At the same time, optimism about the economic outlook has bolstered demand for shares of companies that would benefit from a relaxation of lockdowns.

Muted inflation data for the start of the year have calmed nerves about the outlook for rates. But bond yields will likely remain volatile, shifting momentum between different segments of the stock market, said Monica Defend, head of research at French asset manager Amundi.

“Eventually it should be positive for the equity market if we have a bit more inflation, a bit more growth,” she said.

Tech stocks including Apple, Twitter and data-mining firm

Palantir Technologies

climbed before the bell in New York. Electric-vehicle maker Tesla rose 3.9%.

Shares of videogame retailer and online-trading sensation

GameStop

dropped about 6% premarket. Volatility has returned in recent sessions to the so-called meme stocks that are the darlings of individual investors who gather on internet forums.

Data on the number of people filing for unemployment benefits, a proxy for joblessness, are due out at 8.30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect that 725,000 workers filed for initial benefits last week. That would mark a small decrease from the previous week and offer a further sign of improvement in the labor market following an easing of Covid-19 case numbers.

“We’re not completely out of the woods yet in terms of the unemployment rate,” said Mary Nicola, a portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments. The health of the labor market will be a key determinant of when the Fed decides to raise interest rates, she added.

Investors’ appetite for U.S. government debt will receive another test Thursday with the planned auction of $24 billion in 30-year bonds. The Treasury sold $58 billion of three-year notes on Tuesday and $38 billion of 10-year notes Wednesday.

In overseas markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.3%.

The euro ticked up 0.2% to $1.1950 after the European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged and said it would be flexible in its bond purchases to avoid a rise in borrowing costs. Investors expect ECB President

Christine Lagarde

to address the recent rise in bond yields in the region in the coming press conference.

“The eurozone can’t afford tightening financial conditions, and we’ve been importing that from the higher rates in the U.S.,” Ms. Defend said before the rate decision. “It is something the ECB is looking at as a matter of concern.”

Traders worked the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.



Photo:

Nicole Pereira/Associated Press

China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.4% in its biggest one-day rise since October. The advance followed an article in a financial newspaper encouraging new investors to seek long-term returns and not be swayed by volatility in stocks,

Deutsche Bank

strategist Jim Reid said in a note.

Markets rose elsewhere in Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi gaining 0.6% and 1.9% by the close respectively.

Write to Joe Wallace at Joe.Wallace@wsj.com

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Business

Stock Futures Rise, Pointing to Tech’s Rebound

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U.S. stock futures rallied Tuesday as a recent selloff in government bonds paused and giant technology stocks recovered some ground.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, suggesting that the broad market benchmark may climb after the New York opening bell. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged 0.5% higher. The blue-chips index notched a new intraday record on Monday.

Futures linked to the Nasdaq-100 rallied 2% Tuesday, indicating that technology shares are likely to rebound. The tech-heavy index and the broader Nasdaq Composite Index both fell into correction territory Monday, meaning that the gauges have declined more than 10% from recent highs.

Technology shares have come under pressure in recent weeks as a wave of selling in the bond market lifted Treasury yields. That led investors to question the high valuations that the technology sector is trading at following its steep climb in 2020.

The yield on the 10-year Treasurys ticked lower to 1.530% on Tuesday. It had ended the previous day at 1.594%, the highest level in over a year.

The stabilization in bond markets is likely to help technology shares recoup some of their losses, investors said. Money managers expect many companies in the sector to continue to benefit from increased online shopping and at-home access to media, entertainment and computing options even as Covid-19 lockdowns ease.

“It is this buy-the-dip mentality,” said Daniel Morris, chief market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management. “It’s not like we’ve changed our long-term view on tech. Everyone expects it to do well—it was just really expensive.”

U.S. lawmakers are on track to pass the latest version of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package later this week. That has boosted investors’ confidence in the economy’s prospects and bolstered demand for stocks in companies that are likely to benefit from the economic rebound, such as banks and energy producers.

This rotation sent the Dow—which is weighted more heavily toward cyclical sectors—to notch its second highest close in history Monday.

Ahead of the market open, shares in

GameStop

gained more than 10%. The stock is climbing for a second day after the board tapped Chewy co-founder

Ryan Cohen

to lead a committee dedicated to transforming the retailer.

Some investors now expect that bond markets could calm as appetite for U.S. government debt revives following the sharp rise in yields. The 10-year Treasury yield was as low as 0.915% near the start of the year.

“We think a big part of the bond-yield move has played out,” said Hani Redha, a portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments. “At this level of yields, we do expect additional buyers to come in. That tends to stabilize the yield level.”

Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 ticked up 0.6%.

The oil and gas sector in Europe climbed 1.6% as Brent-crude futures, the international gauge for oil prices, rose 1% to $68.92 a barrel.

In Asia, most major indexes were mixed by the close of trading. The Shanghai Composite dropped 1.8% and South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1%.

The New York Stock Exchange on Monday.



Photo:

Lev Radin/Zuma Press

Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com

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Business

Tech Stocks Poised to Decline as Bond Yields Rise

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U.S. stock futures dropped Monday and a selloff in U.S. government bonds extended into its sixth week after progress toward a new fiscal stimulus bill brightened economic prospects and sapped demand for technology stocks.

Futures linked to the S&P 500 slipped 0.6%, suggesting that the broad market may decline after the opening bell. The benchmark ended Friday up 0.8% for the week, following a volatile week in which investors rotated out of big technology stocks. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 1.5% at the start of the new week, pointing to tech stocks extending losses.

In the bond market, the yield on benchmark 10-year US. Treasurys ticked up to 1.592% as investors moved funds out of assets considered to be the safest in the world. Yields rise when bond prices fall. It had ended Friday at 1.551%, its highest since February 2020.

President Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan was approved in the Senate over the weekend, and faces a vote in the House as early as Tuesday. The additional fiscal spending is expected to bolster the pace of economic recovery and boost inflation. As the outlook brightens, money managers are moving out of government bonds and technology stocks, and into sectors such as banks and energy that are likely to rebound with the economy.

“Stimulus checks into people’s bank accounts will be a big propeller of growth, given the consumer in the U.S. makes up such a big part of U.S. growth,” said Shaniel Ramjee, a multiasset fund manager at Pictet Asset Management. “The underlying strength of the U.S. economy, growing expectations that the stimulus gets fully passed, plus inflation expectations rising because of oil: these are all likely to continue to push bond yields higher.”

Tech stocks have been retreating in recent weeks as vaccination programs advance and economic data point to the recovery being under way. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined over 2% last week, losing ground for a third consecutive week. That is because investors are betting that the largest media, communications and online-shopping companies will see a slower pace of growth as pandemic lockdowns end.

Traders worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.



Photo:

Nicole Pereira/Associated Press

Ahead of the market open, giant tech stocks including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Alphabet and

Facebook

fell in early trading. Apple, the biggest company on the S&P 500 by market value, has dropped over 8% this year. Shares in Tesla, the electric-vehicle maker that was also a favorite among individual investors last year, fell over 3% premarket. It has lost more than 15% so far in 2021.

“The main market element is what’s happening in the yield market: The U.S. tech side is suffering from the current normalization in the cost of capital,” said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier. “The market is currently acknowledging that we’re in a recovery. Flows are rebalancing to better reflect this cyclical recovery.”

Among other stocks moving in premarket trading,

General Electric

rose 3.2%. The Wall Street Journal reported that the industrial conglomerate was nearing a $30 billion deal to combine its aircraft-leasing business with Ireland’s

AerCap.

Some tech stocks edged down, including Tesla, which slipped 4%, and Square which fell nearly 3%.

Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%, led by banking stocks. Europe’s stock market is benefiting from investors rotating into value stocks, analysts said.

Among individual stocks, ABN Amro climbed over 7%,

Banco de Sabadell

rose more than 5% and

Deutsche Bank

gained over 4%.

In Asia, most major benchmarks fell by the close of trading. The Shanghai Composite fell 2.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.9% as investors grappled with signs that Chinese policy makers will take more action to rein in debt and prevent asset bubbles from forming.

Write to Anna Hirtenstein at anna.hirtenstein@wsj.com

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Business

Global Markets Fall After Bond Yields Surge

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International stocks dropped Friday, tracking declines in U.S. indexes, as a selloff in bonds helped dent investor appetite for richly valued shares.

However, U.S. Treasury notes rose in price, regaining some of the previous session’s losses, and futures suggested stocks in New York could stabilize or gain slightly in Friday trading.

Investors said the market had been reassessing prospects for interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve, despite assurances from Chairman

Jerome Powell

that the central bank won’t raise rates anytime soon.

“What has happened in recent weeks is the markets have had to reprice expectations of the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes,” said Dwyfor Evans, head of macro strategy for the Asia-Pacific region at State Street Global Markets in Hong Kong.

He said the pickup in bond yields would have knock-on effects on areas such as corporate lending and mortgage rates. “That’s why equities will come under pressure here, because rising yields will have some impact on the real [economy] and earnings might have to slow,” Mr. Evans said.

By early afternoon Friday in Hong Kong, major benchmarks there and in Japan had fallen more than 2%, as had China’s CSI 300 Index, which includes large stocks listed in either Shanghai or Shenzhen. South Korea’s Kospi Composite fell more than 3%.

In Asia, as in the U.S., some of the biggest declines came in highflying technology shares.

SoftBank Group,

Samsung Electronics

and

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

all dropped more than 3%, while Chinese food-delivery giant Meituan tumbled 5.9%.

Higher bond yields suggest the U.S. economy is returning to normal, which should bode well for corporate earnings. But they also improve the relative appeal of bonds compared to stocks, and can cause investors to reassess how much they should pay now for expected future profits—a particular problem for fast-growing tech stocks.

“Given the market has already rallied over the past 10 months, you are seeing quite a bit of profit-taking,” said Ken Wong, a portfolio manager at Eastspring Investments. Mr. Wong said rising borrowing costs were already causing some market participants to unwind positions bought using leverage, while expensive valuations were also fueling caution.

As of Thursday, the MSCI AC World index traded at a price of 20 times expected earnings, according to Refinitiv data, a 37% premium to the average of the last 10 years.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 retreated 2.4% and the Nasdaq dropped 3.5%, as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to a one-year high above 1.5%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

But futures suggested the stocks selloff might not extend much further in U.S. markets Friday, with those on the S&P 500 declining 0.1% and Nasdaq-100 futures down 0.5%.

In Asian trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury declined 0.017 percentage point to 1.498%, according to Tradeweb.

Some regional bond markets followed Thursday’s U.S. selloff, with Australian benchmark yields rising to 1.87%, the highest since 2019.

In Japan, 10-year yields also hit a multiyear high, at 0.16%. Since 2016, the Bank of Japan has kept 10-year rates at around zero under its yield-curve control policy, though in recent years it has permitted rates to overshoot or undershoot by as much as 0.2 percentage points.

Write to Xie Yu at Yu.Xie@wsj.com

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Business

Stocks Fall, Led Lower by Tech Shares

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 0.1% after closing Wednesday at an all-time high. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.6%.

Stocks have wobbled the past week as investors have grappled with a sharp rise in bond yields. The shift, which money managers have broadly attributed to bets on inflation and growth picking up, has tempered enthusiasm for some of the pricier sectors of the stock market.

The S&P 500 technology sector lost 0.5% Thursday, among the worst-performing sectors in the index. Meanwhile, sectors of the market thought to benefit most from rising economic growth, like financials and energy, were higher for the day.

The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index, which tracks the performance of 24 lenders, added 0.6%.

“The market is jittery. The bond yields’ rising is putting equities, especially growth stocks, under pressure,” said

Sebastien Galy,

a macro strategist at Nordea Asset Management. “There is a bit of a risk reduction broadly.”

One group of stocks that bucked the trend: “meme” stocks that have surged in popularity among individual investors this year.

In a wave of volatility reminiscent of last month’s rally,

GameStop

jumped 50%, while

AMC Entertainment

climbed 14%. The two stocks had soared in overnight trading as well.

The moves show “there is still liquidity and a lot of access to speculative bets,” said Sophie Chardon, cross asset strategist at Lombard Odier. “We have to be prepared to live with this kind of targeted bubble, but I wouldn’t see it as a threat to the global equity market.”

Meanwhile, government bond prices fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ticking up to 1.460%, from 1.388% Wednesday.

“The rise in yields is supportive for banks, higher oil prices are supportive for energy. It is a change of leadership,” Ms. Chardon said.

Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.2%.

Among individual equities, beer maker

Anheuser-Busch InBev

fell almost 6% after its fourth-quarter profit came in below estimates.

Traders worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.



Photo:

Nicole Pereira/Associated Press

British packaging company

DS Smith

jumped over 6% on reports that rival Mondi is exploring a takeover.

Investors have also been selling European government bonds in recent weeks as they look for higher returns. The yield on French 10-year bonds, which moves inversely to the price, ticked up above zero for the first time since June and reached as high as 0.024%.

In Asia, most major benchmarks finished the day up.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.6% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.2%. South Korea’s Kospi Index rallied 3.5% after its central bank kept interest rates at historic lows.

Write to Anna Hirtenstein at anna.hirtenstein@wsj.com and Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com

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