U.S. stocks and bonds slid Thursday as investors resumed a weekslong bond selloff, defying the Treasury Department's attempts to curb borrowing costs. Secretary Scott Bessent's move this week to increase bond repurchases temporarily cooled yields on government debt, but yields rebounded near some of their highest levels in years. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.697%, pressuring shares in data-center hyperscalers like Nvidia that rely on debt to finance AI infrastructure. "This is a Band-Aid," said Lawrence Gillum, chief fixed income strategist for LPL Financial, referencing Treasury's expanded buyback program. "This doesn't really fix the problem." Disappointing earnings by America's largest retailer further weighed on the market. Walmart reported its weakest sales growth in six years, extending concerns about softening consumer spending.

Walmart's shares slid 9.2%, helping drag down the Dow Jones Industrial Average 1.3%, or 704 points. The Nasdaq composite fell 1%, while the S&P 500 ticked 0.9% lower. Although Bessent said on CNBC that upcoming buybacks could exceed $4 billion per operation, market participants remain skeptical about the effectiveness of these measures in addressing spiraling U.S. debt levels.