Stocks close flat | 10-year yield hits March high | GM to record high

It was the bond market that caught Wall Street's attention on Tuesday, as rates hit their highest levels in nearly 10 months.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE TUE, JAN 12, 2021 EVENING BRIEF AS OF TUE, JAN 12, 2021 • 04:45 ET DJIA 31068.69 +0.19% +60.00 S&P 500 3801.19 +0.04% +1.58 NASDAQ 13072.43 +0.28% +36.00   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 128.80 -0.18 -0.14% INTC 53.24 +1.70 +3.30% MSFT 214.93 -2.56 -1.18% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG F 9.78 +0.48 +5.16% GE 11.78 +0.33 +2.88% AAPL 128.80 -0.18 -0.14% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 128.80 -0.18 -0.14% AMD 95.36 -1.90 -1.95% TSLA 849.44 +38.25 +4.72%   EDITOR'S NOTE It was the bond market that caught Wall Street's attention on Tuesday, as rates hit their highest levels in nearly 10 months.   The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield hit 1.187%, its highest level since March 20. The 30-year bond also reached a March high.   Rates pulled back from those highs before the end of the day, with the 10-year yield sliding to 1.13%. Still, the 10-year rate is up 21 basis points from its 2020 close of 0.92%.   This recent move higher in rates comes amid prospects for more fiscal Covid stimulus as Democrats secured majorities in the House and Senate. Last week, President-elect Joe Biden said new government aid would be "in the trillions of dollars."   "Markets have shifted in mindset as the Democratic ripple is digested short-term," wrote Gregory Faranello, head of U.S. rates at AmeriVet Securities. "The focus is now turning to growth and inflation and perhaps a combination of both."   Bank stocks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America all closed higher, boosted by the increase in rates. Charles Schwab, meanwhile, hit a record high.   However, shares of Big Tech names such as Apple and Alphabet struggled amid Tuesday's move up on interest rates. Elevated rates could make it more expensive for tech companies — which have been the market leaders throughout the pandemic — to keep growing their businesses through additional debt issuance.   "When you think about the 10-year gradually working higher after spending most of last year below 1%, it raises questions about valuations, especially as it pertains to technology," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities.   Catch The News with Shepard Smith at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC. The nightly newscast provides deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day's most important stories. Fred Imbert | CNBC Markets Reporter @foimbert TOP NEWS  Stocks close flat, Goldman Sachs leads banks higher House set to call on Pence, Cabinet to remove Trump from office U.S. to change Covid vaccine allocation to favor states that quickly administer shots CDC expands Covid vaccination guidelines to everyone 65 and older Covid live updates: U.S. lowers age for vaccine eligibility, reroutes doses to states giving out more shots 10-year Treasury yield jumps to its highest level in nearly 10 months Traders watch bitcoin for clues about high-flying stock market Trump warns impeachment for Capitol riot is 'tremendous danger' to U.S. Zoom plans $1.5 billion share sale at 10 times its IPO price GM shares hit record high as automaker reveals electric van and delves into flying cars   TOP VIDEO A federal emergency declaration is in place to boost security ahead of Biden's inauguration   CNBC PRO Charles Schwab shares hit record as broker emerges as a top pick to play rising rates   SPECIAL REPORTS NFL's playoff openers see solid ratings, Nickelodeon's game draws 2 million viewers Goldman says bitcoin is starting to mature but institutional money is a tiny fraction of the market   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2021 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS