Wall Street stocks fell on a broad-based slump in technology stocks and a tumble in consumer staples on Thursday, while oil prices softened and other commodities went on a wild ride. Rising U.S. Treasury yields widened the curve slightly after nine days of flattening, and supported a stronger dollar. Strong corporate earnings had boosted stocks this week, but a tepid forecast on smartphone demand sent stocks from Apple to chipmakers tumbling on Thursday. Tobacco company Philip Morris plunged as much as 16.5 percent after announcing weak results and forecasts, dragging down the S&P 500 index and rival Altria. Oil prices softened after having spiked to highs not seen since 2014. U.S. crude fell 0.35 percent to $68.23 per barrel and Brent was last at $73.71, up 0.31 percent. Nickel and aluminum soared to multi-year highs, buoyed by talk that Saudi Arabia had its sights set on $80 to $100 a barrel oil and of more U.S. sanctions on Russian aluminum producers, including Rusan. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 116.23 points, or 0.47 percent, to 24,631.84, the S&P 500 lost 18.31 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,690.33 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 57.58 points, or 0.79 percent, to 7,237.66. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.02 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.47 percent. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes last fell 14/32 in price to yield 2.9173 percent, its highest since Feb. 21. The dollar rose 0.3 percent against a basket of major currencies as the higher yields and expectations of more Federal Reserve rate increases offset concerns about a trade war and a ballooning U.S. budget deficit.
