Markets mixed, faces correction as challenges “mounting”

Markets were mixed on Thursday.

In the US, the S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent but the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent.

Elsewhere, the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.5 percent, with the DAX 30 tumbling 1.4 percent, but in Asia, the Nikkei 225 surged 1.7 percent.

Bonds fell, with the US 10-year Treasury yield hitting 2.78 percent, a three-year high.

Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth LLC, said reflationary fears may be causing concerns, while Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG, sees the Federal Reserve raising interest rates four times in 2018, starting in March.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, also sees four rate hikes this year and sees the possibility of a 15 percent correction in the stock market.

“Challenges are mounting here for stocks,” said Paulsen. “And for bonds, I think.”