Wall Street closed in the red on Tuesday, with tech giant Apple taking the spotlight as it kicked off its highly anticipated fall event. Investors also braced for Wednesday’s pivotal inflation data.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), heavily reliant on technology stocks, saw a notable retreat of over 1%. This downturn was fueled by a significant stumble in Oracle stock (ORCL) following the company’s report of sluggish cloud sales growth. The broader market, represented by the S&P 500 (^GSPC), dipped by approximately 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) managed to recover from earlier losses to conclude the day with minimal change.
Tech stocks, specifically Apple, dominated Tuesday’s trading session on Wall Street. Apple unveiled its latest flagship product, the iPhone 15, during its annual event. However, Apple’s stock experienced a decline of 1.7% throughout the day. Simultaneously, there was growing anticipation surrounding the impending Arm IPO, with reports indicating that the chip designer’s listing was oversubscribed by up to ten times.
The surge in oil prices further fueled concerns about inflation’s resilience against the Federal Reserve’s efforts to temper economic pressures. Both WTI crude (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) futures surged, nearing nine-month highs early in the day. This uptick was spurred by OPEC data, which pointed to a projected supply shortfall of over 3 million barrels per day in the next quarter in global oil markets.
Investors are now on high alert for Wednesday’s critical US inflation data, scrutinizing it for any indications of a potential slowdown in consumer spending. Thursday will offer additional insights into households’ financial fortitude when the August retail sales report is released.
This week’s barrage of economic data will be carefully examined for its potential impact on the Federal Reserve’s decisions at its forthcoming September meeting. Investors are meticulously evaluating whether the possibility of further interest rate hikes remains on the table and, if so, whether they have already been factored into the stock market’s current valuation.
Source: Yahoo Finance
