Wall Street opens lower as risk-aversion dominates markets

• Falling T-bond yields continue to push investors away from stocks.
• Defensive sectors gain traction amid risk-off flows on Wednesday.
• Risk-sensitive Technology and Communication Services shares fall sharply.

Major equity indexes in the United States started the day deep in the negative territory on Wednesday as falling US Treasury bond yields escalated fears over a possible recession. The 30-year T-bond yield today dropped to a fresh record low and inverted further. Reflecting the sour sentiment, the CBOE Volatility Index is rising nearly 4% on the day.

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were both losing 0.4% on the day while the Nasdaq Composite was erasing 0.7%.

Among the 11-major S&P 500 sectors, the risk-sensitive Technology and the Communication Services indexes are down 1% and 0.5% on the day to lead the losers. On the other hand, so-called defensive sectors, Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Real Estate, are posting modest gains to confirm the risk-off atmosphere.