The major stock averages took steep losses to start the week as investors continued their rotation out of technology stocks amid rising yields. Large technology shares like Facebook, Apple, Nvidia, and Amazon were lower as investors eyed bond yields. A surge in rates to end September knocked highly valued tech stocks.

Shares of the drug maker Merck gained 2.1%, following through on an 8% surge on Friday after the drug maker said their oral antiviral treatment developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics for Covid-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% for patients with mild or moderate cases.

It was only a matter of time, but mortgage rates may finally be heading the way many housing experts have expected them to travel by this point in 2021: sharply upward.  Rates on America’s most popular types of home loans surged last week. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages jumped last week from 2.88% to 3.01%, according to the mortgage giant Freddie Mac.  It was the largest weekly increase since mid-February.