U.S. Stocks Open Lower As Bond Yields Rise

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks opened lower Tuesday, as investors remain unnerved by rising bond yields, which lift borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, and with the technology sector under pressure after Texas Instruments reduced its earnings outlook.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 31 points at 13,394.

The S&P 500 eased 4.5 points to 1,504, while the Nasdaq Composite eased 9.2 points to 2,563.

On Monday, stocks lost early gains as the market continued to monitor rising global interest rates amid signs of global growth and hawkish talk from a Fed official. The Dow industrials rose 0.6 of a point, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4 points and the S&P 500 rose 1.5 points.

"Stocks are still focused on interest rates, as evidenced by the inverse relationship to yields throughout yesterday's trading," said Marc Pado, chief U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald. "Yields started at their high and stocks opened near their lows."

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who is nearly as visible in retirement as he was in office, is set to speak. The Treasury Department budget for May will be released at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Stocks in action

Shares of Lehman Brothers last were 1.3% higher at $76/70 in premarket electronic trade. The Wall Street Bank posted a 25% rise in quarterly revenue and earnings that outpaced the predictions of Wall Street analysts.

Texas Instruments Inc. late Monday reduced the top end of its second-quarter earnings forecast, citing weaker-than-expected sales of its calculators and wireless devices. The stock last was 2.5% lower at $34.91 before the bell.

Dow Jones Co. Inc. , the publisher of this report, is once more in the news. The Bancroft family, which controls a preponderance of the voting shares of the company's stock, is planning to send its suitor News Corp. a proposal for a board to safeguard The Wall Street Journal's editorial independence.

YouTube, which is being bought by Google Inc. , is going to test video fingerprinting technology to identify clips by companies like Time Warner Inc. and Walt Disney Co. .

In other technology developments, Apple Inc. is planning to launch a new version of its Safari browser, according to reports. The browser will run on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system.

Other markets

Treasurys were under pressure after overnight news that in May China's inflation accelerated at its fastest pace in more than two years. The 10-year Treasury note fell 8/32 to 94-23/32 with a yield of 5.185%.

The dollar was little changed in the early going. Trade could be more active on Wednesday when the currency manipulation report comes out. The euro was last down 0.1% at $1.3339, while the dollar was up 0.03% at 121.79 yen.

Commodities were under pressure in early trade. The front-month crude contract last was off 41 cents at $65.56 an ounce as gold futures moved down $4.60 to $649.70 a barrel.

By Leslie Wines