U.S. stocks were under pressure Thursday, but off the session lows, in the final hour of trade as investors digested a batch of weaker economic data suggesting the effects of the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes have been kicking in. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was down 126 points, or 0.4%, near 34,82, while the S&P 500 SPX and Nasdaq Composite Index COMP both were down less than 0.1%. The strong rally for equities in November, which has taken the tech-heavy Nasdaq out of correction territory, appeared headed for a pause on Thursday. Traders were focused on incoming economic data, comments from Walmart Inc.’s WMT chief executive about deflation likely to set in and on Fed speakers. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said that easing monetary policy was not “part of the conversation right now,” in a CNBC interview on Thursday. The 10-year Treasury yield BX:TMUBMUSD10Y was down to about 4.44% Thursday, off a 16-year peak of about 5% in October, signaling a drop in borrowing costs.
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