A “tough” speech by North American Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell and the issuance of US 30-year debt were a sign of investor sentiment during the session on Thursday, November 9.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.65% to 33,891.94 points, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) lost 0.81% to 4,347.35 points, ending an eight-session upward streak. The Nasdaq technology index fell 0.94% to 13,521.45 points.

Investor sentiment was affected by the Fed Chairman’s speech. Powell explained that the US central bank is able to reverse course and tighten monetary policy further if necessary.

The global “benchmark” S&P 500 index increased its losses, along with an increase in interest rates on North American sovereign debt with different maturities.

The yield on 30-year Treasury bonds rose by 22 basis points, after falling in the meantime, rising by 16.5 basis points to 4.78%. Interest on North American bonds rose 14.7 basis points to 4.622%.

The “yields” on bonds with longer maturities were increasing larger than interest rates on bonds with shorter maturities, pushing the US yield curve toward a negative slope.

The US Treasury put $24 billion on the market over 30 years, after it ended up being willing to pay an interest of 4.769%, compared to the indicative interest of 4.716% indicated at the beginning of the process.

The debt market was further shaken by the IT problem. The US Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association informed its members on Thursday that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was the target of a cyberattack, according to the Financial Times.

The attack had an impact on the settlement of transactions by the bank, and thus affected investors intermediary with this financial institution. The US Treasury later confirmed, citing Reuters, that it was aware of this incident.