U.S. stocks finish lower Monday, with losses accelerating toward closing bell

U.S. stocks closed lower Monday amid rising Treasury yields, as investors assessed the recent equities rally that had been sparked by optimism that inflation may be easing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average e
DJIA,
-0.63%
finished down 0.6%, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.89%
slid 0.9% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-1.12%
fell 1.1%, according to preliminary FactSet data. Investors keep looking for clues on how aggressive the Federal Reserve may need to be lifting interest rates to battle high inflation, as well as where its terminal rate could wind up. Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Monday in an interview with Bloomberg that she thinks “it will probably be appropriate soon to choose a slower pace of increases.” The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 3.7 basis points Monday to 3.865%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.