A bond sell-off could be 'Armageddon' for the market

The stock market keeps hitting record highs because of a potent cocktail of strong earnings and solid global economic growth. The corporate tax cut is a nice little chaser.

But some experts are increasingly concerned that the hangover will be a doozy.

They worry that U.S. bond yields will rise much more dramatically than Wall Street expects. That could force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more aggressively to fight inflation -- and stop the market rally, slow the economy and make it more expensive for people and businesses to get loans.

A sell-off in bonds could be "the Armageddon event for this year," Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst for Think Markets UK, wrote in a report Tuesday.

Analysts worry that China will slow its purchases of American bonds. That would push yields higher because rates go up as bond prices go down.

The Bank of Japan has also been buying less in Japanese bonds -- a sign that many countries are looking to end financial crisis-era stimulus measures. That, too, should push yields on Treasury bonds and other global bonds higher.