US stocks wavered on Tuesday as investors geared up for a looming consumer inflation report seen as crucial to determining the size of the first US interest-rate cut in years.
The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) ticked up roughly 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 0.2%.
The moves follow Monday’s sharp rebound, which saw the major gauges surge over 1% as investors went post-rout bargain hunting. Volatility is stalking the markets as investors waver between hopes for a hefty 0.5% rate cut from the Federal Reserve and worries about recession risks.
With the Fed’s policy decision just days away, investors are still unsure whether a 25- or 50-basis-point cut is on the way. The CPI update and Thursday’s wholesale inflation reading are the last two inflation inputs before policymakers meet on Sept. 17.
Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) shares edged lower after the company lost an EU court battle over a $14 billion tax bill, a day after its iPhone 16 launch disappointed on the AI side. Elsewhere in techs, Oracle (ORCL) stock jumped around 10% in early after its earnings topped estimates, thanks to cloud services demand.
Live2 updates
Stocks open mixed in countdown to inflation report
US stocks opened mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited a crucial consumer inflation report that will help determine the future of Federal Reserve policy.
The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) ticked up roughly 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 0.2%.
Early takeaways from Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference
It’s 5am in San Francisco and I am currently prepping for Yahoo Finance’s big day two coverage at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference. We are coming in hot today, with big chats with Robinhood (HOOD) CEO Vlad Tenev and AT&T (T) CEO John Stankey.
But I don’t want to forget about day one of the conference just yet! Learned a ton!
Here are a couple takeaways:
The gap between AMD (AMD) and Intel (INTC) — in terms of technology and overall investment thesis — is as wide as the ocean. I couldn’t be more blown away by the product roadmap outlined by AMD CEO Lisa Su in our chat yesterday (which you can watch here). Also, I couldn’t be more impressed with how Su thinks about the business. Despite all the positive headlines written about her the past decade, she remains deeply engaged and focused on winning at AMD — and that is great for AMD shareholders.
Speaking of Intel, Goldman Sachs tech analyst Toshiya Hari essentially reiterated his Sell rating on the stock on air with yours truly and Madison Mills (you can watch that here). Talking a little with Hari off-camera, I came away really concerned on the timeline for Intel turning around its business. The stock is hovering near a record low.
Keep an eye on how big cap tech stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA) react to the inevitable Fed rate cut next week. Goldman’s software analyst Kash Rangan told us investors in tech are waiting for a rate cut to get more bullish on the space again. He did caution the sector has to do a better job monetizing AI for the stocks to really lift off.
There is a good story in the WSJ today looking at Oracle (ORCL) now being viewed as a friend to the world’s biggest cloud computing companies, rather than a rival. I think Madison’s exclusive interview with Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman at the conference sheds light on this thesis. Garmin goes into how the two are working closer together.
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