Stocks Drift, Bonds Fall as Inflation Fears Mount.

 U.S. stocks drifted on Monday as surging energy prices cemented worries about inflation and reinforced bets on policy tightening. 

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The S&P 500 slid 0.05%, led by losses in utiltites, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.05% 

with mixed performance in shares of Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. In Europe, consumer and retail shares led a drop on the Stoxx 600. And in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s economy slowed in the third quarter. 

The losses came after last week’s rebound on corporate earnings and solid economic reports, which were enough to outweigh concerns about energy shortages and supply-chain disruptions. However, a rise in oil and natural gas prices reignited fears Monday after OPEC+ failed to meet output targets and Russia opted against sending more fuel to Europe. Production at U.S. factories also fell in September.

“The issues that caused the pullback have quieted over the past two weeks, which has rightly allowed stocks to bounce,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter. “But these issues are not resolved by any stretch of the imagination.”

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 1.60% as a global bond selloff gathered pace. U.K. yields surged after the Bank of England warned on the need to respond to price pressures. Meanwhile, rate-hike bets have also picked up in Australia and New Zealand, where inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in 10 years. The dollar was little changed.

• Bloomberg