Stocks fall broadly as a bout of market volatility continues

A pedestrian walks past the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, in New York. Stocks are opening sharply lower again on Wall Street Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, a day after a wild roller-coaster ride that erased an intraday plunge. Big technology stocks like Apple were leading the losses.(AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Tuesday, continuing a volatile bout of trading that has sent markets swinging between sharp losses and gains as investors gauge several threats.

Persistently rising inflation has been hammering businesses and consumers with higher costs, and prices and investors are nervous about the Federal Reserve's plan to raise interest rates as a countermeasure. The virus pandemic still hovers over the economy and threatens to crimp progress with every new wave.

Most recently, a potential conflict between Russia and Ukraine threatens to push energy prices even higher while forcing more countries to focus on fighting a war instead of inflation and COVID-19.

The S&P 500 fell 2.5% as of 10:02 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 712 points, or 2.1%, to 33,656 and the Nasdaq fell 2.8%.

Major indexes had a similar start to trading on Monday and were down most of the day, but a a late buying spree pushed them to a higher close.

Technology stocks again led the losses as investors worry about rising interest rates. Higher interest rates tend to make shares in high-flying tech companies and other expensive growth stocks less attractive.

Retailers, banks and communications companies also fell. Utilities and other sectors that are considered less risky help up better than the rest of the market.

Bond yields were steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.73% from 1.74% late Monday.