US STOCKS-Nasdaq, S&P 500 end lower as U.S. yields rise; Disney lifts Dow

* Technology-related companies resume slide
* Discovery rises on strong paid streaming subscribers
forecast

(Updates to close, adds new analyst comment)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed
lower on Monday as climbing Treasury yields and prospects of
rising inflation triggered valuation concerns, hitting shares of
high-flying growth companies.
The Dow industrials ended higher, boosted by a surge in Walt
Disney Co DIS.N shares.
U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were up at 1.37%
US10YT=RR on Monday. Since the beginning of February, 10-year
yields have risen about 26 basis points, on track for their
largest monthly gain in three years.
Still, some analysts noted that the stocks pullback was
expected after a torrid rally this year and in 2020.
"This is a small pulback primarily because stocks got a
little overheated and there are a few worries out there that
people are making mountains of out molehills," said Brian
Reynolds, chief market strategist, at Reynolds Strategy.
He cited worries about the rise in Treasury yields, but
noted that junk bond yields hit all-time lows last week,
suggesting there has been a shift from the safety of Treasuries
to the riskiness of corporates among investors.
"That's bullish for stocks," he added.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak
before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, and investors
are expected to look for any potential changes to the central
bank's dovish outlook. "What investors are grappling with ... is what does this
(higher Treasury yields) mean from an inflation perspective.
Because of that, there's a little bit of tantrum in the market
right now," said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at
Ally Invest, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Shares of Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O ,
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Tesla Inc TSLA.O and Amazon.com Inc
AMZN.O resumed their slide from the previous week.
Largely upbeat fourth-quarter earnings had powered Wall
Street's main indexes to record highs early last week, but the
rally lost steam, in part due to fears of a potential snag in
U.S. vaccination efforts and inflation concerns emanating from
stimulus measures.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
29.08 points, or 0.09%, to 31,523.4, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
30.2 points, or 0.77%, to 3,876.51 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 341.42 points, or 2.46%, to 13,533.05.
The S&P 500 .SPX declined for five straight sessions, its
longest such streak in a year.
Value stocks .IVX have outperformed growth shares .IGX
in February, with investors betting on a rebound in industrial
activity and a pickup in consumer demand as countries roll out
vaccines to tame the pandemic.
The S&P 500 industrials .SPLRCI and financial sector
.SPSY both rose, while energy stocks .SPNY surged on higher
oil prices. [O/R
Discovery Inc DISCA.O jumped after the media company said
it was expecting 12 million global paid streaming subscribers by
the end of February, as coronavirus-led restrictions kept people
at home. Kohl's Corp KSS.N gained after a group of activist
investors nominated nine directors to the department store
chain's board. Principal Financial Group Inc PFG.O added after a media
report that activist investor Elliott Management Corp had taken
a stake in the life insurance company and planned to push for
changes.