It's a Bad Day for Banks

Financial companies led a modest slide by stocks on Wall Street as a mixed batch of company earnings and declining bond yields weighed on the market, the AP reports. The selling pulled every major sector lower on Tuesday, snapping a three-day winning streak for the S&P 500. Banks took the biggest losses as investors reacted to another drop in long-term bond yields. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.55% from 1.59% late Monday. Lower bond yields mean lower interest rates on loans and lower profits for banks. Bank of America dropped 2%. The S&P 500 fell 23 points, or 0.8%, to 2,900. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 173 points, or 0.7%, to 25,962. The Nasdaq fell 54 points, or 0.7%, to 7,948.

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