Stocks fell Thursday morning, with equities trying to lengthen losses for a third consecutive day.

The Dow and S&P 500 every opened sharply decrease. The Nasdaq added to losses after the index shed 2% on Wednesday amid one other day of promoting for expertise shares. U.S. crude oil costs gave again some features after spiking 5% on Wednesday, although a huge container blocking passage in the Suez Canal continued to plug the numerous commerce artery for one other day, weighing on oil provides.

The fast transfer decrease in equities got here following remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who spoke on NPR’s Morning Edition Thursday morning. Powell doubled down in his assertion that the Fed remained strongly dedicated to focusing on 2% common inflation over time, and stated that any eventual pullback in Fed assist can be achieved “gradually over time, and with great transparency.”

However, some traders have been skeptical that the Fed will resist adjusting its financial coverage positioning within the face of increased inflation this yr. Though Powell and different Federal Open Market Committee members have advocated a “patient” stance that favors leaving accommodative policies in place through the restoration, the specter of a lot greater-than-expected inflation this yr stays on the desk.

“This will be the first time that every country in the world is emerging from recession simultaneously. And the Fed and other policymakers are banking on this idea that it’ll be a relatively short strain on supply chains but eventually, things get up and running again and you can get the input components to where they’re most needed,” Tim Quinlan, Wells Fargo senior economist, told Yahoo Finance. “But I think one of the under-appreciated risks is the scope for this to create more of an inflation shock in the short-run than they’re banking on right now.”

The benchmark 10-year yield fell again under 1.6%, bringing it greater than 15 foundation factors decrease from final week’s excessive. Still, yields stay sharply increased for the year-to-date, as issues over rising inflation linger for many traders.

“We think long-term bond yields are just in a pit stop here in what’s going to be a multi-year move higher,” JPMorgan world market strategist Gabriela Santos instructed Yahoo Finance.

“Ultimately, we do proceed to assume that it’s going to hurt the extra speculative or costly components of the market like tech and actually profit the extra cyclical [sectors] and particularly the components of the market that may profit from a steepening yield curve,” she added.

With just a week left of the first quarter of 2021, the stocks that had been the most badly beaten down last year have so far largely outperformed. Cyclical sectors like financials, industrials and energy gained as prospects of rising interest rates, increased spending on infrastructure and demand for travel picked up.

However, the past week’s choppiness in equity market trading – as well as lingering virus-related headline risks to cyclicals stocks like cruise lines – has underscored the non-linear nature of the recovery for both the economy and for last year’s laggards.

“It’s not simply as straightforward as flipping the calendar to 2021,” Brian Belski, BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist, told Yahoo Finance. “We assume that is going to be effectively into 2022 earlier than we’re in elevators once more … or getting on an airplane interval extra recurrently. And that’s why you want publicity to the stay-at-home shares, to the tech shares …You must be diversified, it’s important to be an energetic inventory picker and it’s important to be basic, way more basic, much less macro.”

9:31 a.m. ET: Stocks open lower, Dow drops 100+ points, or 0.4%

Here’s where markets were trading shortly after the opening bell on Thursday: 

  • S&P 500 (^GSPC): -17.Eight factors (-0.46%) to three,871.34

  • Dow (^DJI): -139.03 factors (-0.43%) to 32,281.03

  • Nasdaq (^IXIC): -102.87 factors (-0.79%) to 12,860.5

  • Crude (CL=F): -$2.00 (-3.27%) to $59.18 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): +$0.70 (+0.04%) to $1,733.90 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): -1.6 bps to yield 1.598%

9:24 a.m. ET: 4Q GDP revised up to 4.3% as private inventory investment came in higher 

U.S. gross domestic product increased at a 4.3% quarter-over-quarter, annualized rate in the final three months of 2020, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ final revision of fourth-quarter GDP.

The upward revision to headline GDP came as private inventory investment was shown to have come in stronger than previously reported. This was partially offset by a downward revision to non-residential fixed investment, the BEA added.

The quarter-over-quarter increase in personal consumption, which accounts for more than two-thirds of domestic economic activity, edged down slightly to 2.3%, from the 2.4% previously reported. 

8:50 a.m. ET: New weekly jobless claims fell to a fresh pandemic-era low last week

Initial unemployment claims dipped more than expected last week, reaching the lowest level since mid-March 2020 as the labor market continued to make strides in recovering.

New filings totaled 684,000 during the week ended March 20, following an upwardly revised 730,000 during the prior week. Continuing claims also fell to a new virus-era low of 3.870 million.

But while claims have come down considerably from those highs, they remain sharply elevated from 2019 levels, when new claims averaged just over 200,000 per week. New claims are also still above their high from the Global Financial Crisis, when weekly claims peaked at 665,000.

7:55 a.m. ET: Stock futures erase earlier gains

Contracts on the three major indexes turned lower, with about an hour and a half to go until the opening bell.

Dow futures shed 80 points, or 0.2%, as shares of Nike (NKE) dropped by more than 5%. Contracts on the S&P 500 dipped by 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures also traded lower by 0.2%. Shares of Nike,

7:18 a.m. ET Thursday: Stock futures rise, holding onto overnight gains

Here’s where markets were trading heading into the opening bell on Thursday:

  • S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,888.5, up 7.75 factors or 0.2%

  • Dow futures (YM=F): 32,373.00, up 54 factors or 0.17%

  • Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 12,832.75, up 38.75 factors or 0.3%

  • Crude (CL=F): -$0.94 (-1.54%) to $60.24 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): -$2.50 (-0.14%) to $1,730.70 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): -0.4 bps to yield 1.61%

6:06 p.m. ET Wednesday: Stock futures open slightly higher

Here’s where markets were trading as the overnight session kicked off on Wednesday:

  • S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,884.25, up 3.5 factors or 0.09%

  • Dow futures (YM=F): 32,351.00, up 32 factors or 0.1%

  • Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 12,803.5, up 9.5 factors or 0.07%

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at Wall Street and the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue on March 23, 2021 in New York City. – Wall Street stocks were under pressure early ahead of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell as US Treasury bond yields continued to retreat. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck

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