New York Oct 10 (IANS) US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as concerns over rising interest rates damped investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 56.21 points or 0.21 per cent to 26 430.57. The S&P 500 was down 4.09 points or 0.14 per cent to 2 880.34 Xinhua news agency reported.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 2.07 points or 0.03 per cent to 7 738.02.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose to 3.26 per cent in early trading on Tuesday its highest level since 2011 before slipping to around 3.2 per cent.

Investors have been grappling with higher interest rates after a batch of strong economic data came out last week.

The unemployment rate declined to 3.7 per cent in September and total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 134 000 the US labor department said on Friday.

In September average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to $27.24. Over the year average hourly earnings have increased by 73 cents or 2.8 per cent.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week said that the US central bank had a long way to go before interest rates hit neutral indicating that more hikes could be on the horizon.


--IANS pgh/