U.S. stocks fell, erasing an early gain, as a disappointing auction of 10-year Treasury notes and a jump in oil prices spurred concern higher interest rates and accelerating inflation will threaten the economic recovery.

Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley lost at least 2.9 percent as yields on 10-year debt, which influence interest rates on consumer and corporate loans, jumped to the highest since October. Continental Airlines Inc. and UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, dropped 6 percent as crude topped $71 a barrel. Stocks extended declines as an auction of 10-year notes drew a yield of 3.99 percent, the highest since August.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.4 percent to 939.15 at 4:04 p.m. in New York after gaining as much as 0.8 percent shortly after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 24.04 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,739.02. About 1.2 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, 23 percent less than the three-month average.

(Bloomberg.com)