Traders work on the morning trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on August 20, 2024.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Stocks fell slightly on Tuesday, halting a winning streak as investors failed to capitalize on the market’s recent recovery.
of Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell 61.56 points, or 0.15 percent, to 40,834.97. S&P 500 It fell 0.2% to 5,597.12. Nasdaq Composite Index It fell 0.33% to 17,816.94.
Tuesday’s declines halted eight straight days of gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, each marking the first time they’ve had an upswing of that length since late 2023. Had the S&P 500 finished higher on Tuesday, it would have recorded its longest winning day since 2004. Meanwhile, the Dow fell for the first time in the past six days.
Despite Tuesday’s moves, major stock averages have rebounded and market volatility has eased since the start of the month. CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) It last dipped below 16 after surpassing 65 on Aug. 5. That was also the day the S&P 500 experienced its worst trading day since 2022, as a global stock market sell-off was triggered by weak July jobs data and a Japanese interest rate hike.
But strong retail sales data and a weak inflation report released last week helped ease investor fears about the economy. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up more than 1% from the previous month, highlighting the market’s dramatic recovery.
“This sell-off caused people to reassess the status quo and go back to basics about corporate America and the economy,” said Tom Heinlin, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “And so we saw investors coming back into the stock market.”
Investors are gearing up this week for the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday. Before then, traders will be analyzing the minutes of the central bank’s July policy meeting, which are due to be released on Wednesday.
Wall Street is looking for hints of what to expect at the Fed’s next policy meeting. Federal funds rate futures are signaling a sure cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool, and the only debate is whether the central bank will cut the lending rate by a quarter or a half percentage point in September.
Fed officials want to signal that they’re “ahead of the curve, not behind,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, “but at the same time, they don’t want to be too aggressive in taking the pressure off before the fire is out.”
Cybersecurity Company Palo Alto Networks The home improvement chain’s shares rose more than 7% after it reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations and decided to buy back $500 million of its own shares. Lowe’s Shares fell more than 1% after the company reported weaker-than-expected revenue and lowered its full-year profit outlook, citing an expected slowdown in consumer spending.
Beyond Revenue Bank of America Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway They continued to sell off stocks.
