Your Capital Markets Snapshot: Equity Markets Continued to Slide

Equity markets continued to slide for the second week, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ posting weekly losses of over 1%, while the Dow's decline was fractional. The volatility was driven by concerns over the growth potential of technology stocks and artificial intelligence as well as increasing uncertainty in the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential election. Despite the volatility, earnings momentum remained positive, with third- quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies on track to rise by an average of 5.1%. On the bond market side, U.S. government bond yields continued to rise, marking the sixth increase in the past seven weeks with the yield on the 10-year note jumping 12 bps from the prior week to close at 4.37%.