Bond yields started to grow, sending stocks lower in the first hour of trading on Friday. Following the Federal Reserve’s announcement that certain emergency measures placed in place for the banking sector last year to help cope with the pandemic will be lifted, bank stocks plummeted.

As of 9:55 a.m. Eastern, the S&P 500 index was down 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8 percent, with bank and oil stocks leading the way lower, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1 percent.

The S&P 500 index dropped 1.5 percent overnight, putting it on track for its first weekly loss in three weeks. Interest rates have risen, and more costly stocks, such as technology firms, have fallen in value.

In early trading, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note was up to 1.74 percent, continuing its upward trend after remaining steady earlier this week. The security is used to price a number of financial items, including the conventional 30-year mortgage, and investors are worried that higher interest rates would hinder economic development.

Concerns have also been raised that the increase in bond yields is a sign of inflation. Officials from the Federal Reserve said earlier this week that they may let the US economy “run hot” for a while to avoid stifling the recovery as the pandemic fades.

The Federal Reserve announced on Friday that some of the emergency measures placed in place during the pandemic would be lifted. It will reinstate some of the capital requirements for large banks that were suspended during the early months of the pandemic to allow banks more flexibility. The banking industry had hoped that the steps would be extended.

Since the Fed’s steps predominantly affect the country’s largest banks, major bank stocks took a hit. Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo all saw their stock prices dropping by 3%.

FedEx’s shares jumped 5% in early trading after the company posted earnings that were substantially higher than analysts’ forecasts.