There’s a list of things the White House could do to lower yields, but signing an executive order isn’t one of them, one portfolio manager said.

U.S. yields reached their highest level in 19 months before easing on Thursday, with worries lingering over the U.S. fiscal outlook and demand for government debt, while Wall Street stocks edged higher with gains in tech-related shares.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields hit their highest in 18 months on Thursday, while Asian stocks and the dollar slipped as worries of a worsening fiscal outlook in the world's biggest economy weighed on investor sentiment.