Stocks Slide as 10-Year Yield Tops 3.2%; Oil Drops

The rout that started Wednesday sent European government bonds lower, while the surge in yields weighed on other assets. The Stoxx Europe 600 and MSCI Asia Pacific gauges fell, and emerging-market shares were hit particularly hard. The greenback fell for the first time in six days. The Turkish lira led developing-nation currencies lower, closely followed by the ruble as Dutch authorities said they expelled four Russian agents after a hacking attempt.

U.S. stocks fell as rate-sensitive shares tumbled after Treasury yields surged to multiyear highs. The dollar fell versus the euro and yen. The S&P 500 slid to a three-week low, with real-estate and consumer shares bearing the brunt of selling. Technology heavy Nasdaq indexes also retreated, while financial firms surged after the 10-year yield poked above 3.2 percent for the first time in seven years before pulling back.

The latest selloff in U.S. government bonds took hold Wednesday in the wake of stronger-than-expected data on private-sector payrolls and the non-manufacturing sector, which have reaffirmed investor confidence in the American growth story. After Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank could eventually boost its benchmark past the neutral level, U.S. payrolls data on Friday may stoke expectations for rate hikes into 2019.

The S&P 500 Index fell 0.8 percent as of 11:37 a.m. in New York. The Nasdaq 100 Index slid 1.7 percent, the most since mid-September. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 1.1 percent, the most since August. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1 percent to the lowest in three weeks on the largest tumble in more than four weeks. The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 2.5 percent to the lowest in more than three weeks on the biggest tumble in more than six months.