Bond Yields Are The Focus Of The Market As US Stocks Remain Flat

A rise in Treasury bond yields and mixed retail results weighed on Wall Street stocks early Wednesday.

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There remains a strong expectation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the near future, with investors closely monitoring the 10-year US Treasury note, which has moved closer to the four percent mark.

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Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed, said in remarks on Wednesday that he is open to a quarter or half-point increase in interest rates at the next meeting of the central bank.

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The market has been concerned that the US economy is running hotter than policymakers expect, which could mean that interest rates may remain higher for a longer period than expected.

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Adam Sarhan, president of 50 Park Investments, has expressed concern that the Fed could overshoot its target and see interest rates rise too much, which could cause a recession. 

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At 32,678.47, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent at about 20 minutes into trading.

Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.1 percent at 11,460.72, while the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.1 percent to 3,966.41.

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A price drop of 2.6 percent was reported by home improvement retailer Lowe's after it reported lower comparable sales for the fourth quarter, while a price rise of 3.6 percent was reported by department store Kohl's after it reported a $273 million loss.

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Vaccine manufacturer Novavax has plunged 24.1 percent after admitting that "substantial doubt exists" about its ability to continue to operate as a going concern after acknowledging that "substantial doubt exists.".

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After being hit by manufacturing and regulatory delays, the company fell behind in the race for a global vaccine, which was once a frontrunner.