S&P 500 ends Tuesday down after notching a fresh bear market low

The S&P 500 fell deeper into a bear market on Tuesday after setting a new 2022 low, while the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield continuing to climb levels not seen in at least a decade.

The S&P 500 was down after earlier breaking below the previous bear market intraday low of 3,636 that was set in mid-June. It last fell 0.4% at 3,641. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last down 164 points, or 0.6%, giving up an earlier gain of nearly 400 points. The Nasdaq Composite was flat.

The S&P 500 is now 24.7% below its record set in January, while the Dow is 21.4% below its all-time high. The Nasdaq has fallen more than 33% since hitting a record in November.

The 10-year Treasury was last up nearly 10 basis points at 3.976% as it continued its climb toward 4%. The 2-year rate was little changed near 4.32% after dipping in early trading.

A rally in the British pound also fizzed, with sterling trading just 0.2% higher at about $1.07 against the dollar. The pound earlier rose more than 1% against the U.S. dollar, in an attempt to rebound from an all-time low set earlier in the week.

“The fact that we lost support at both 3900, 3800 and certainly made a beeline to the June lows tells you that the risk-off environment hasn’t changed much over the course of the last six weeks,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial.

“We’re still concerned that the Fed is going to overdo it and push the economy into recession,” Hogan added.

Stocks initially got a boost after Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans signaled some apprehension about the central bank raising rates too quickly to fight inflation. His comments stood in contrast to a slew of Fed officials who recently reiterated a tough stance against rising prices.

The moves comes after five straight days of losses for stocks, with the S&P 500 closing at its lowest level since 2020. The Dow dropped more than 300 points on Monday, putting it in a bear market after falling more than 20% below its record high. The 30-stock average also posted its lowest closing level since late 2020.