technology stocks led a tuesday selloff as economic growth expectations buoyed by lofty spending measures making their way through congress drove a staggering increase in yields on the 10year treasury—the socalled riskfree asset class—forcing investors to reconsider positions in recently lackluster equities the dow jones industrial average fell 505 points or 15 to 34363 as of 1145 am edt tuesday while the sp 500 sank 17 putting each index about 35 below their alltime highs from this summer led by sharp declines in chipmakers asml applied materials and amd the techheavy nasdaq plunged 27 to 14582 points more than 5 below its latest high earlier this month yields on the 10year treasury shot up 35 basis points on tuesday to their highest levels in more than three months ushering in the techfocused selloff by driving investors away from the highpriced sector market analyst tom essaye president of sevens report research said in a note in the sp ecommerce firm etsy vaccinemaker moderna and social media giant twitter were among stocks heading up losses plunging 8 6 and 5 respectively meanwhile us consumer confidence unexpectedly fell to a sevenmonth low this month according to data released tuesday by the conference board which noted the delta variants spread continued to dampen optimism rising treasury yields have coincided with several bouts of market stress this year in a morning note analyst adam crisafulli of vital knowledge media pointed out yields—still about 50 below prepandemic levels—are normalizing and mostly rising for good reasons namely expectations for stronger economic growth however that resurgence should prove difficult for tech stocks which have the most to lose after the nasdaqs stunning 43 gain last year the pandemic fueled a huge surge in tech stocks he said adding that as the pandemic fades the forces that pushed the stocks up are working in reverse pandemicfueled growth has already started to slow for tech companies denting their future revenue prospects and rising yields should only further erode stock prices crisafulli notes what to watch for in a recent note morgan stanley analysts estimated the sp 500 could be in for an average 18 valuation haircut relative to earnings for every 100 basispoint increase in 10year treasury yields so far this year yields have added about 60 basis points stocks most at risk of a decline include recent stayathome favorite zoom video communications athome fitness firm peloton and tesla–all of which trade for at least 100 times earnings “consumer confidence dropped in september as the spread of the delta variant continued to dampen optimism” lynn franco a senior director at the conference board said in a statement tuesday “concerns about the state of the economy and shortterm growth prospects deepened while spending intentions for homes autos and major appliances all retreated again white house warns us could plunge into recession if it hits debt ceiling next month forbes