After weaker-than-expected economic data rekindled fears of a recession, Wall Street saw a renewed flight to safety, with stocks falling and bonds rising.
The Nasdaq 100 underperformed major benchmarks as it shifted away from growth stocks. Some of the market's most speculative areas bore the brunt of the selling, with a basket of profitless technology firms tracked by Goldman Sachs Group falling more than 4%. Even after Western Alliance Bancorp's deposit disclosure, the S&P bank index remained lower.
Traders flocked to shorter-maturity Treasuries, pushing the 10-year note's yield down to around 1.5 percentage point below the three-month bill rate - the widest spread in decades and historically a reliable indicator that the economy is slowing.
