Tech selloff weighs down Wall Street as bond yields climb

VIDEO SHOWS: n/a STORY: Wall Street closed lower Tuesday with the Dow falling about a quarter of one percent, the S&P 500 slipping more than two-thirds of a percent, and the Nasdaq sliding one and a third percent. Technology stocks dropped with semiconductors suffering the steepest declines as Middle East uncertainty pushed bond yields to multiyear peaks, feeding concerns about borrowing costs and inflation. Gina Martin Adams, chief market strategist with HB Wealth, says she thinks bonds will remain a driving force for stocks for several months. "I think the biggest threat to the equity market right now is the bond market, not the equity market itself. With yields rising, we have to really consider what we're willing to pay for stocks because of yields, of course, represent the discount rate for those future cash flows that equities tend to trade on. So I do think that the market is going to see its focus shift from earnings as the predominant driver of growth to potentially yields in the fall as we have limited amount of earnings information that is coming out. This could create a rockier path forward for equities, particularly relative to the very robust pace of gains that we've experienced so far this year." Investors flocked to more defensive sectors such as healthcare and consumer staples while the rise in energy prices gave a lift to energy stocks. Individual stocks on the move included Baidu. U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese search company plunged nearly 13% as its revenue missed estimates. And Norwegian Cruise Line declined 3% after broker Mizuho downgraded the stock to neutral from outperform citing construction delays among other reasons.