US and European stocks fell for a second day in a row on Wed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 176.89 points, or 0.54%, to 32,813.23. The S&P 500 slid 0.75% to 4,101.23. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.72% to 11,994.46.
Meta (FB US, -2.58%) shares slipped on news the COO, Sheryl Sandberg, plans to step down.
Material stocks, which are sensitive to economic cycles, were out of favor on Wed. Albemarle (ALB US) dropped 7.80% and Mosaic (MOS US) shed 6.32%.
Bucking the negative trend was Salesforce (CRM US, +9.88%) which reported first-quarter results that topped expectations.
European stocks were dragged down by US markets. The UK FTSE 100 fell 0.98%, the German DAX dropped 0.33%, and Frances CAC 40 declined 0.77%.
The CEO of top German asset manager DWS (DWS GR, -5.98%) resigned on Wed, a day after raids by prosecutors over allegations that the company misled investors about "green" investments.
The 10-year US Treasury note yield gained 7.5 basis points (bps) to 2.919%.
Jumping bond yields supported the US dollar. The US dollar index (DXY), a measure of the greenback’s value vs a basket of six foreign currencies, climbed 0.75% to 102.549.
The gold price was supported by safe-haven demand and worries over an increase in inflation. However higher yields and a stronger dollar kept the gold price in check. US gold futures settled 0.02% higher at US$1,848.7 per ounce.
US WTI crude oil futures for July delivery gained $0.59 to $115.26/bbl, with the new front-month Brent contract advancing $0.69 to $116.29 bbl.