Nasdaq, S&P, Dow end lower for a third straight day amid rate concerns
franckreporter
U.S. stocks on Thursday slipped to a third straight day of losses.
Worries over elevated interest rates continued to weigh on sentiment, after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July monetary policy committee meeting in the previous session showed that several policymakers were open to further rate hikes to combat inflation. 
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) fell 1.17% to end at 13,316.93 points. The benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) declined 0.78% to close at 4,370.14, while the Dow (DJI) slipped 0.84% to settle at 34,473.90 points. 
All 11 S&P sectors - with the exception of Energy - ended in the red, with growth sectors Consumer Discretionary and Technology among the top losers. 
"Last week, we discussed the marketâs struggles with strong resistance at 4,500. Now, the market is gaining downside momentum, triggered by a toxic mix of rising rates and economic growth fears. A soft landing is increasingly unlikely, which is what the market has been pricing in since the start of this year," BN Capital's Leo Nelissen told Seeking Alpha. "We also see a rotation from growth to value as high-yield dividend stocks, REITs, energy, and related continue to hold up quite well." 
"Potential stagflation would be toxic for growth stocks," Nelissen added. 
Treasury yields were mixed, with the longer-end 10-year yield (US10Y) up 3 basis points to 4.29% and the more rate-sensitive 2-year yield (US2Y) down 4 basis points to 4.94%.
Yields in recent weeks have continued to climb higher, amid a deepening U.S. and global bond sell-off on worries around elevated inflation and higher interest rates for longer.
See how Treasury yields have done across the curve at the Seeking Alpha bond page.
On Thursday, market participants digested a host of economic data. The number of Americans filing for jobless claims in the past week rose slightly more than expected, pointing to resilience in the labor market.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed's business outlook for August came in at +12 versus an expected figure of -10. Furthermore, U.S. e-commerce retail sales in Q2 rose, though at a slower pace than in Q1. Finally, the U.S. leading indicator index slipped 0.4% to 105.8 in July.
"Now, itâs up to the Fed to communicate a clear game plan in case economic growth numbers keep disappointing while inflation remains sticky," Leo Nelissen said. 
Turning to active movers, Cisco (CSCO) ended among the top percentage gainers on the S&P 500 (SP500), after the networking and cloud giant delivered a quarterly results beat. Analysts also praised the fact that the Dow 30 component sees an improvement in order growth this coming fiscal year.
CVS Health (CVS) closed as the biggest S&P percentage loser, after a report that non-profit health insurer Blue Shield of California would drop CVS' Caremark as its pharmacy-benefit manager in favor of a new approach for negotiating drug prices with manufacturers. CVS said there was no near-term impact from the loss of the contract. 
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