US close: Stocks erase earlier losses, end mixed ahead of CPI

9th Apr 2024 20:27

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished in mixed fashion on Tuesday with investors choosing to keep their powder dry ahead of Wednesday's consumer-price index release and a key publication from the Federal Reserve.

"Equities continue to consolidate, having pulled back modestly from the record highs hit at the beginning of this month. It feels as if investors are exhibiting some caution now, following a long period of bullishness," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

All three of Wall Street's equity benchmarks pared earlier losses, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 finishing up 0.32% and 0.14%, respectively, while the Dow closed down just 0.02%.

"At the beginning of this year markets were pricing in six 25 basis point cuts. Now it's nearer to two or three. In fact, there have been some FOMC members who feel that the recent stalling of the decline in inflation, together with robust economic data releases, means that it's far too early to consider cutting rates," Morrison said.

Looking ahead to Wednesday's session, the US consumer price index for March is due out at 0830 ET and is expected to have risen to 3.4% from 3.2% the month before, though core inflation should have dipped to 3.7% from 3.8%.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said a rise in headline inflation "will certainly give the Fed food for thought". He said: "The central bank wants to see sustained evidence of inflation coming down and that doesn't appear to be on the menu [...] The Fed putting it into black and white could be a difficult pill for investors to swallow, so brace yourself for turbulence on the market this week."

Wednesday will also see the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting in March, due out at 1400 ET, along with scheduled speeches from Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee and Fed board governor Michelle Bowman.

Back to Tuesday's session, the only major economic data release of the day was the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index, which fell for a third consecutive month in March. The index dropped to 88.5, the lowest reading since December 2012 and well below forecasts for a print of 90.2.

Inflation was given as the single most important problem in operating businesses for 25% of those surveyed, higher input and labor costs and up two points from February. Additionally, the net percentage of owners who expect real sales to be higher decreased eight points from February to a net -18%.

Market movers

Google parent company Alphabet hit a fresh 52-week high on the day of its next Google Cloud Next event as it unveiled its new custom Arm-based chip, which will be available later this year.

Boeing's struggles continued on the back of a whistleblower report surrounding alleged problems with its 787 Dreamliner, causing the stock to fall. According to the New York Times, the FAA is looking into claims made by a Boeing engineer who said that parts of the Dreamliner's body have been fastened together in a way that could damage the aircraft over time.

Chip maker Nvidia slipped for the fifth time in six sessions, dropping to below the $855.02 level which puts it in correction territory, according to Marketwatch. Meanwhile, e-commerce giant Amazon was on track to beat its previous record close from back in 2021.

Gold miner Barrick Gold closed with gains after gold prices hit another record high, hitting an intraday peak of $2,384.50 an ounce.

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $50.01 3.67%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $91.00 1.11%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $38.33 0.92%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $459.72 0.82%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $59.72 0.76%

3M Co. (MMM) $92.61 0.74%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $169.67 0.72%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $269.44 0.70%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $59.87 0.59%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $117.97 0.53%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $223.84 -2.93%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.84 -2.13%

American Express Co. (AXP) $219.84 -1.91%

Boeing Co. (BA) $178.12 -1.89%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $197.15 -0.67%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $371.90 -0.42%

Visa Inc. (V) $276.72 -0.37%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $189.15 -0.27%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $361.42 -0.17%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.46 6.57%

FMC Corp. (FMC) $63.76 6.02%

Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $22.09 5.85%

Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $110.72 4.05%

Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $29.98 3.95%

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $204.15 3.79%

Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $90.61 3.68%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $50.01 3.67%

Resmed Inc. (RMD) $194.27 3.47%

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $80.44 3.39%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.26 -3.82%

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) $98.87 -3.79%

Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $133.18 -3.70%

Eaton Corporation plc (ETN) $313.87 -3.67%

Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $29.84 -3.40%

Unum Group (UNM) $51.63 -3.08%

American International Group Inc. (AIG) $75.52 -2.99%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $223.84 -2.93%

PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $119.18 -2.72%

Progressive Corp. (PGR) $204.81 -2.65%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $204.15 3.79%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $100.63 3.77%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $50.01 3.67%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $330.25 3.18%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $26.70 2.93%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $91.75 2.92%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $133.57 2.65%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $106.90 2.65%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $173.46 2.36%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $176.88 2.25%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $119.18 -2.72%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $853.54 -2.04%

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.03 -1.90%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $618.20 -1.62%

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $155.38 -1.56%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $40.15 -1.38%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $568.99 -1.28%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,095.74 -1.04%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $127.33 -0.69%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $271.46 -0.58%