NEW YORK, May 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded mixed on Thursday as investors were sifting through the rising Treasury yield as well as the latest corporate earnings.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 36.63 points, or 0.15 percent, to 24,732.30. The S&P 500 increased 0.26 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,722.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.92 points, or 0.05 percent, to 7,394.38.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed over 3.1 percent on Thursday, the first time since 2011, while the two-year yield hovered around its highest levels in a decade.
The yield, a barometer for mortgage rates and other financial instruments, has jumped recently amid market fears of rising inflation, which sparked investors' speculation about more rate hikes later this year.
The probability that the U.S. central bank will raise its benchmark rate a fourth time this year went up to a record of 51.9 percent on Thursday, according to the CME's FedWatch tracking tool for the Fed funds futures.
In corporate news, U.S. multinational company Cisco Systems, Inc. reported weaker-than-expected sales for its key services business on Wednesday after market closing. Shares of the company dropped 3.5 percent around midday session on Thursday, the worst performer on the Dow. Enditem
