Stock market news live updates: Stock futures open flat after tech-led selloff - Yahoo Finance

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Stock futures traded flat Wednesday evening after another session of equity declines. Technology stocks came under more selling pressure as traders turned their focus to stocks poised to benefit from an impending economic reopening.

Contracts on the Nasdaq traded little changed, after the index dropped 2.7% during the regular session. Contracts on each of the Dow and S&P 500 also hugged the flat line.

The past several weeks have seen investors increasingly rotate away from the high-growth names that led the markets higher in 2020, given that a greater economic reopening appears imminent and apt to lift stocks badly beaten down last year. Still, however, a disappointing jobs report Wednesday morning – with private payrolls shown to have climbed less than expected in February — underscored the choppiness of the recovery, and the ground still left for the U.S. economy to make up post-pandemic.

At the same time, the recent, rapid rise in Treasury yields has also deterred investors from growth stocks, with interest rates closely tied to borrowing costs for companies and consumers. The 10-year Treasury yield reached 1.47% on Wednesday, rising by nearly 50 basis points from levels just a month ago. Bank stocks have outperformed, and the S&P 500 financials sector has been among the top performers over the year-to-date, given that bank profits tend to benefit from higher-rate environments.

"I think we just have another example of the reality show for finance geeks, and that is ‘bonds behaving badly,’ Jason Ware, chief investment officer of Albion Financial Group, told Yahoo Finance. "And as rates rise, as yields rise, what we’re continuing to see is this push against owning growth companies and in particular big cap technology. And I think at the outset that makes sense: It starts to shake some complacency as yields go up, and portfolio managers – especially those that are more short-term oriented – start to rethink those positions."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate continues to debate the details of another coronavirus relief package, with the House of Representatives having advanced President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion proposal last weekend. On Wednesday, the White House agreed with moderate Senate Democrats to tighten the eligibility rules for Americans to receive a $1,400 stimulus check, bringing the maximum income threshold down to $80,000 from $100,000 included in the House bill.

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