US Stocks-Wall St slips as higher oil prices, hawkish Fed bets weigh

At 09:54 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 350.75 points, or 0.65%, to 53,209.24, the S&P 500 .SPX shed 30.49 points, or 0.40%, to 7,681.27, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 77.11 points, or 0.29%, to 26,325.31. The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were on track for monthly gains after two straight months of decline, while the Dow was headed for a fifth consecutive monthly rise. Military clashes between the U.S. and Iran resumed in the Middle East, where disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has impeded oil shipments. Energy stocks .SPNY were up following nearly a 1.71% jump in Brent crude LCOc1 prices, with Halliburton HAL.N and Valero Energy VLO.N climbing 4.26% and 1.90%, respectively. All S&P 500 sectors except energy were under pressure. Utilities .SPLRCU led sector declines, falling 1.7% after an amendment to a Senate bill in California did little to alter the exposure of grid operators in the state to wildfire liabilities. PG&E PCG.N plunged 18% and looked set for its worst day in more than six years, if losses hold. The main U.S. stock indexes dropped on Monday after military strikes between the United States and Iran drove up oil prices, fanning inflation worries after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish remarks in his first Jackson Hole address the previous week. The losses could set the tone for September, typically a weak month for equities, and are likely to up the ante at the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting next month. Traders see a more than 60% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch, a sharp increase from 41.4% a week ago, after Warsh said policymakers may need to increase borrowing costs if inflation does not ease to the central bank's 2% target. "He (Warsh) took any chance of a (rate) cut off the table," said Thomas Kikis, head of markets, U.S. and Americas, at Standard Chartered. Warsh's comments, delivered on Friday at the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium, came after mixed data in recent weeks. A consumer inflation report this month showed price pressures were mild in July, but the Personal Consumption Expenditures reading, the Fed's preferred gauge, was hotter than expected. The ambiguity could raise the stakes for the monthly U.S. employment report, due on September 4. Recent reports did not indicate that "underlying trends have meaningfully improved," Warsh said on Friday. "Absent a material downside surprise, the onus is now on Warsh to deliver a September hike. Otherwise, he risks undermining some of the credibility he gained on Friday," analysts at BofA Global Research said in a note. Nvidia NVDA.O rose 0.28%, outperforming megacap stocks. Other chipmakers were also up, with Intel INTC.O and Texas Instruments TXN.O gaining 1.21% and 0.9%, respectively. "I continue to favor areas of the market linked to structural growth themes such as artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure," said David Chao, global market strategist, Asia Pacific, at Invesco. In other movers, GameStop's shares rose 4.5% after the company said it would pay about 27% of a previously announced $1.4 billion debt exchange through cash on hand instead of issuing new stock, preventing further share dilution. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.84-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.03-to-1 ratio.

US Stocks-Wall St slips as higher oil prices, hawkish Fed bets weigh

Energy gains while utilities and PG&E fall

Stocks slip as oil prices and Fed rate-hike bets rise

Mixed inflation data keeps September jobs report in focus

Nvidia and chipmakers gain as GameStop rises on debt exchange move

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