(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped and Treasury yields rose as minutes showed Federal Reserve officials were cautiously optimistic about the U.S. recovery at their April meeting, with some signaling they’d be open “at some point” to discussing scaling back the central bank’s massive bond purchases.
All three main equity indexes resumed declines after initially jumping following the release of the minutes. Ten-year Treasury yields jumped to session highs. All 11 main S&P 500 industry groups were falling, led by energy and raw-material stocks as commodities prices tumbled.
“We saw 10-year yields rise pretty sharply, clearly an upward move after the minutes were released — it looks like it all comes down to minor changes in wording on tapering,” said Collin Martin, fixed-income strategist at Schwab Center for Financial Research. “There might be a few participants who are getting a little eager to start the discussion, which might be more than the markets were expecting. For anyone waiting for the taper, this could be a hint it’s coming sooner rather than later.”
Cryptocurrency-exposed shares including Coinbase Global Inc., Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. and Riot Blockchain Inc. each fell more than 6% after Bitcoin touched its lowest level since January before bouncing back. Tesla Inc. was headed toward its lowest close since November after data showed a slowdown in China sales. Target Corp. traded at a record high after predicting a more profitable year as quarterly sales soared.
At its worst moment Bitcoin dropped about 30% to within a whisker of $30,000. It had pared that decline to about 12% in afternoon trading. Other cryptocurrencies held double-digit percentage losses, pressured in part by a Tuesday statement from the People’s Bank of China reiterating that digital tokens can’t be used as a form of payment.
“Tactically, it seems a bit overdone as fundamentals have changed modestly,” Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners, said of the crypto rout. “However, this type of volatility is a reminder that the asset class is pure. This type of move could flush out some of the casual crypto investors, since we haven’t seen this type of downward volatility in some time.”
Stocks have lost steam in recent sessions, with pricier sectors such as technology tumbling on worries about inflation and a Covid-19 resurgence in some countries. While policymakers have signaled they intend to maintain an accommodative stance for some time to come, traders will parse the Fed’s minutes for clues about the outlook. The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell for a second day as oil, copper, soybeans and almost every other futures contract linked to industrial and agricultural staples retreated.
Read More: Some Fed Officials Favored Taper Talk at ‘Upcoming Meetings’
Here are some key events this week:
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and ECB President Christine Lagarde speak at the Vienna Economic Dialogue ThursdayEuro-area finance ministers and central bank chiefs hold an informal meeting. A larger group of EU finance ministers and central bank chiefs will meet May 22
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 3:13 p.m. New York timeThe Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.5%The euro fell 0.4% to $1.2172The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.4112The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 109.23 per dollar
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 1.68%Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.11%Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.85%
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.3% to $63 a barrelGold futures fell 0.2% to $1,865 an ounce
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