Trading Day: ASX recovers as banks rebound

Market recovers strongly from an intraday fall, hitting its highest daily close since March 3.

US Treasury yields jumped again, returning to the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

The S&P/ASX 200 recovered strongly from an intraday fall, hitting its highest daily close since March 3 after banks including Westpac and ANZ lifted.

But a pivot away from technology stocks is likely to continue in the face of rising Treasury yields.

On Wall Street the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9 per cent to 32,778.64 on Friday night, setting another record, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.1 per cent to 3943.34, adding four points to the record high set on Thursday. But the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 0.6 per cent at 13,319.87.

The moves came as US Treasury yields jumped again, returning to the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020, as the 10-year note rose above 1.6 per cent.

That is a sign of growing investor fears that the Federal Reserve will have to raise borrowing rates sooner than expected to contain inflation — despite the central bank’s assurances to the contrary.