Wall Street bulls end week unrattled after fast run-up in yields

A rally in Wall Street stocks faded on Friday, ending a six-week rise in the S&P 500 index. Still, the main takeaway after a week in which bond yields surged to the highest since July, inflation worries resurfaced, and US presidential politics simmered, none of it really bothered risk-asset bulls.

A six-week rally in the S&P 500 that had been the longest since December came to an official end. The index was dragged down by banking stocks despite a surge in tech shares.

A selloff in treasuries sent US 10-year rates to their highest level since July, igniting alarm on Wall Street. Another indication that months of almost record calm are coming to an end is the rise in volatility indices.

And yet, there was little evidence of panic. The Nasdaq 100 closed within 2 per cent of its record peak ahead of a historic week of tech results. A gauge of the "magnificent seven" US megacaps notched its best back-to-back jump since February. 

Crypto shares sank after the Wall Street Journal reported that the US is looking into tether for potential anti-money-laundering regulation breaches. Perhaps none of the legal actions taken by US authorities against crypto firms in the last year pose as big of a danger...

To the digital asset market as a possible crackdown on tether holdings. Tether is the issuer of USDT, a token with a market valuation of over $12 billion. The coin is intended to serve as a digital alternative to the US dollar.

It is the most traded token on a daily basis and the third-largest crypto in terms of market value.