The dollar hits a five-month high but Italian stocks slide on political worries
New York — Italy’s borrowing costs jumped on Wednesday and the country’s stocks slid after reports that the two parties seeking to form Italy’s next government might seek debt forgiveness, while the US dollar rallied further to a five-month high.Investors were digesting Tuesday’s surge in US bond yields on the heels of a retail sales report that fueled the dollar and hurt stocks. The benchmark 10-year yield held well above 3% after bursting through key technical levels on Tuesday."The combination of higher oil prices, higher dollar and stronger yields are starting to potentially weigh on investor sentiment," said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for wealth management division of Northern Trust in Chicago. "As yields go up they start to be a little bit more competitive with risk assets and with stocks in particular."Wall Street’s main indices were little changed after sliding on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.28 points, or 0.01%, to 24,704.13, the S&P 500 gaine...
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