Dow inched up 2, advancers over advancers 4-3 & NAZ slid back 22.  The MLP index stayed in the 226s & the REIT index recovered 5+ to the 369s.  Junk bond funds were flattish & Treasuries saw more selling, raising yields.  Oil slid back to the 81s & gold fell 17 to 1998.

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

Homebuilder sentiment jumps to highest level since September

Yellen says U.S. banks may tighten lending and negate need for more Fed rate hikes

Treasury yields rose slightly as investors assessed the outlook for the economy & earnings season pressed on.  The 10-year Treasury yield was up 4 basis points to 3.564% & the 2-year Treasury  yield climbed more than 5 basis points to 4.154%.  Yields & prices have an inverted relationship & one basis point equals 0.01%.  The 2-year Treasury yield breached the key 4% level on Fri even though data published throughout the week indicated that inflationary pressures could be easing.  That included Mar's consumer inflation report, which reflected a smaller than expected increase of 0.1% on a monthly basis.  Also last week, the latest producer price index reading showed that wholesale prices fell by 0.5% in Mar.  That prompted many investors to hope that a pause of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes was imminent.  The central bank had previously hinted that if data suggested a cooling of the economy, rate increases may be halted shortly.  Earnings seasons continues today

Yields rise slightly to start the week as investors weigh economic outlook

Dow Jones Industrials