LONDON/NEW YORK – US treasuries were leading a broad-based bond rally on Thursday as concerns mounted about the strength of the economic recovery while inflation fears ebbed, with US stocks following declines earlier across the globe. The dollar was weaker.

The burst of pessimism continued a pattern earlier in the week and comes as central bankers juggle concerns about the pace of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on inflation.

"The (bond market) bears have given up and thrown in the towel," said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets in London.

Around 1400 GMT, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 4.3 basis points to 1.278 percent.

The moves follow a signal from the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday that it had no immediate plans to tighten monetary policy, but would begin talking about it. read more

A reading on Thursday on the number of Americans filing new unemployment claims provided another indication that the job market recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be choppy. read more

US stocks were down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 399.59 points, or 1.15 percent, to 34,282.2, while the broad S&P 500 lost 54.88 points, or 1.26 percent, to 4,303.25. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had dropped 215.26 points, or 1.47 percent, to 14,449.80.

Shares in Europe were down about 2 percent.

The dollar index was down 0.34 percent at 92.33.

Spot gold prices gained US$5.705, or 0.32 percent, to US$1,809.11 an ounce.

Brent crude was last down US$0.66, or 0.9 percent, at US$72.77 a barrel. US crude was last down US$0.90, or 1.25 percent, at US$71.3 per barrel.