US stocks slid on Tuesday as 10-year Treasury yields hit the highly anticipated 3 per cent mark for the first time in four years, stoking concerns over higher borrowing rates for companies already facing rising costs, and as quarterly results failed to deliver positive outlooks. On Tuesday, the Dow fell more than 400 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped more than 1 percent each.

S&P 500 futures were recently down 0.2% after the index. The Nasdaq Composite gained 2.64 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 7,009.99 at the opening bell.

Wall Street limped into positive territory on Wednesday on optimism over a spate of upbeat earnings that was almost offset by jitters over rising US bond yields and corporate costs. This was despite Twitter posting a set of upbeat profit results.

Alphabet shares fell 4.77 per cent, erasing the stock's year-to-date gains as rising expenses and shrinking margins overshadowed the company's better-than-expected profit. Investors reacted negatively to the news that the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield had traded up to 3.03 percent.

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But the comments from Caterpillar's executives, as well as from other major companies like 3M and Sherwin-Williams, had investors worrying about whether that growth will show up. Industrial and basic materials companies and technology firms are taking some of the worst losses.

The aerospace company topped Wall Street's estimates in the first quarter and raised its forecasts for the year. Investors expected strong profit growth this year thanks to the growing global economy and the corporate tax cut President Donald Trump signed at the end of 2017.

Gina Martin Adams, chief equity strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, said it hasn't happened yet. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,554.38 for a loss of -19.25 points or -0.20%.

USA crude oil futures settled 1.4 per cent lower at $67.70 a barrel as concerns faded over the possibility that the United States might reinstate sanctions against Iran.

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Gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,324.10 an ounce and silver sank 0.8 percent to $16.57 an ounce. The stock market had already been spooked by a climb in bond yields earlier in the year, sliding sharply in February. A new four-year high for the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which crossed above 3% for the first time since January 2014 on Tuesday, added to the negative tone on Wall Street.

Facebook fell 4 percent to $159.27 and Microsoft skidded 2.4 percent to $93.10.

The Nasdaq is down 138.77 points, or 1.9 percent. The price of the precious metal increased by 0.68% to 1,333 Dollars per ounce. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1 percent and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.6 percent.

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