Wall Street Drifts on Bond Pressure    10/02 10:45

   U.S. stocks are drifting Monday as the constrictor of higher interest rates 
tightens its coils around Wall Street.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are drifting Monday as the constrictor of 
higher interest rates tightens its coils around Wall Street.

   The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower in morning trading, coming off its worst month of 
the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 117 points, or 0.4%, at 
33,389, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.

   Slumps for oil-and-gas stocks weighed on the market after crude prices gave 
back some of their sharp gains since the summer. The majority of stocks fell 
alongside them, but gains for Apple and some other Big Tech stocks helped to 
limit the market's losses.

   Stocks have broadly given back about 40% of their strong gains for the year 
since the end of July. The main reason is Wall Street's growing acceptance that 
high interest rates are here to stay a while as the Federal Reserve tries to 
knock high inflation lower. That in turn has pushed Treasury yields to their 
highest levels in more than a decade, which makes investors less willing to pay 
high prices for stocks and other investments.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed again Monday, up to 4.65% from 
4.58% late Friday, and is near its highest level since 2007.

   High yields hit stocks in several ways. They send more investors to bonds 
that are paying much more than in the past, which pulls dollars away from 
stocks and undercuts their prices. They also make borrowing more expensive for 
companies and their customers, which can pressure their profits.

   The U.S. dollar's value has also been climbing against other currencies 
after the Federal Reserve said it will likely cut interest rates by less in 
2024 than it earlier expected. It's already pulled its main interest rate to 
the highest level since 2001.

   A strong dollar gives a boost to U.S. tourists spending money abroad, but it 
hurts U.S. companies that sell their products overseas. And for the big 
companies in the S&P 500 index, that means a huge chunk of revenue.

   "If higher-for-longer rates keep the dollar at recent levels, corporate 
profits will face a genuine headwind," according to Lisa Shalett, chief 
investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

   The U.S. economy has been holding up overall, defying predictions that it 
would have fallen into a recession by now. A solid job market and spending by 
U.S. households has helped keep the economy afloat, despite much higher 
mortgage rates and other borrowing costs.

   Manufacturing has been one area that's felt the sting of higher rates, and 
reports on Monday suggested it's still contracting, though perhaps not by as 
much as expected.

   A report from the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing 
contracted in September for an 11th straight month. More encouraging for Wall 
Street was that the report also indicated prices were easing in September. That 
could mean less pressure on inflation, which has been feeling heat recently 
from fast-rising oil prices.

   Crude oil prices were easing Monday but remain much higher for the year.

   A barrel of U.S. crude fell 1.6% to $89.37, though it's up sharply from 
about $70 during the summer. Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 
0.4% to $91.87.

   That helped drag Exxon Mobil down 2% and Chevron down 1.6%.

   Tesla was another weight on the market, slumping 0.9% after reporting 
vehicle deliveries for the summer that fell short of analysts' expectations.

   SmileDirectClub plunged 59% to 17 cents after the company that helps people 
straighten their teeth filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

   On the winning side of Wall Street, Discover Financial Services jumped 6.7% 
for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The company gave details about a consent 
order it received from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which forces 
Discover Bank to improve its consumer compliance management system. Analysts 
pointed to how Discover did not receive a fine or any other monetary penalty, 
which could be seen as a positive for the stock.

   Congress over the weekend avoided a shutdown of the federal government, 
which threatened to hurt the economy and disrupt the publication of economic 
data Wall Street finds crucial. But Capitol Hill only temporarily delayed the 
threat, promising another showdown. Plus, traders are well aware the stock 
market has held up rather well through past shutdowns.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes were lower across much of Europe.

   In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% despite a survey from the central 
bank showed business confidence is on the rise.