US stocks pare early gains as bond yields surge

Stocks indexes pared early gains Wednesday and were mostly lower in afternoon trading as investors reacted to a late-afternoon surge in bond yields. Bond prices fell, sending the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note to its highest level in four years, following newly released minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting which showed bullish sentiment among policymakers, confirming their intention to further tighten credit. Banks rose along with the bond yields.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,706 as of 3:49 p.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 130 points, or 0.5 percent, to 24,827. The Nasdaq added 23 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,257.