U.S. stocks take a step back before CPI
SPY•Sector performance and stock moves
With that, only three of the S&P 500's 11 major industry sector indexes finished higher. Defensive Utilities, up 1.11%, and Energy, up 1.06%, led the gains. On the flip side Communication Services was the biggest loser with a 2.12% decline. The sector's weakest stocks were AppLovin, which tumbled 6%, and heavyweight Alphabet, which fell 3.8%.
However, despite weakness in the main indexes, there were some milestones under the hood.
The S&P 500 Banks Index barely squeaked to a record-high close with less than an index point gain to spare. The S&P Value Index also barely managed a record close with a measly 0.02% advance. The S&P Equal Dollar Weighted Index registered a more decisive record close with a 0.2% gain.
Here is your closing snapshot:
Stocks ease ahead of inflation data
Wall Street's three major indexes finished lower on Tuesday with July's consumer inflation reading due out before market open on Wednesday and hopes for Middle East peace fading.
The newly appointed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed as long as the U.S. does not change its behaviour and accept Iran's conditions to end the war. The comments were the strongest indication yet a deal with Oman would not immediately reopen the strait unless the U.S. follows a memorandum of understanding it forged with Iran in June. With that, oil prices settled up more than 1%.
Speaking of rising prices, investors are anxiously awaiting the consumer price index (CPI) report with hopes for some sort of clues as to how the Federal Reserve might react.
July CPI is expected to rise 0.1% month-over-month vs. the prior report's 0.4% drop while it is expected to rise 3.4% yr/yr vs. a 3.5% increase in the last report, according to economists polled by Reuters.
Earlier in the day Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said he is more concerned about too-high inflation than any labor market weakness, though it is not clear if that worry translated into support for the interest-rate hike that a few of his colleagues wanted last month.
