Higher Bond Yields, Soft Earnings Weigh on Wall St.<br />Benchmark U. S. 10-year note yields hit a seven-month high of 2.475 percent, buoyed by economic data, recent optimism over progress on tax reform by U. S. President Donald Trump’s administration<br />and anticipation of a nominee to head the Federal Reserve.<br />NEW YORK — U. S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the Dow Industrials<br />and S&P 500 indexes suffering their worst day in seven weeks, on a batch of soft quarterly earnings and a rise in bond yields.<br />Also weighing on sentiment: President Trump and the U. S. House of Representatives’ top tax law writer reopened the door<br />on Wednesday to changes in the 401(k) retirement savings program, just days after Trump seemed to rule out such a step.<br />Mike Beale said that It is possible the market may be taking some solace that Yellen is still in the mix,<br />Downbeat earnings from AT&T sent shares in the United States’ second-largest wireless<br />carrier down 3.9 percent, pulling down other telecom stocks Verizon and CenturyLink<br />Boeing, off 2.8 percent, surprised investors by revealing a $329-million charge<br />for its troubled KC-46 aerial refueling tanker program in quarterly results.<br />The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 112.3 points, or 0.48 percent, to end at 23,329.46, the S&P 500 lost 11.98 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,557.15<br />and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 34.54 points, or 0.52 percent, to 6,563.89.
