Rising bond yields dent tech stocks

Technology stocks, which tend to have higher valuations, have been one of the victims of the rise in bond yields in the US.

As bond yields climb, more investors shift money into those higher yielding assets, which tends to negatively impact stocks that are priced for growth.

Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft — all companies that pushed the stock market higher last year — fell by 2.4 percent or more.

Smaller company stocks fared worse than the rest of the market.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks lost 84.21 points, or 3.7 percent, at 2,200.17. The index has been far outpacing larger indexes, a signal that investors expect broader growth to continue.-AP