NASDAQ 100, Dow Jones, S&P 500 News: Oil Prices Soar, Tech Stumbles as CPI Looms

Highlights

• Wall Street’s focus shifts to August CPI data, a pivotal measure for future Fed moves.
• Moderna shares gain traction, rising 1.2% following CDC’s broad vaccine recommendation.
• Tech slump intensifies: Oracle’s 13% plunge rattles cloud giants Amazon and Microsoft.
• Oil prices rally over 1%, fueling concerns about persistent inflation and potentially higher U.S. interest rates.

Market Response to Inflation Data

U.S. stock futures exhibited minimal movement, as Wall Street braces itself for the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key inflation metric. The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 futures all made slight declines.

A significant player in the health sector, Moderna’s shares, witnessed an uptick of 1.2% following the CDC’s recommendation of Covid vaccine updates for all Americans above six months of age. This recommendation includes vaccines from both Moderna and Pfizer, the latter also experiencing a 0.2% stock increase.

Tech Stock Underperformance and Oracle’s Slide

Tuesday’s trading session painted a gloomy picture, with most major averages experiencing losses. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite faced a 1% dip, largely influenced by tech giants Apple and Oracle. Oracle’s shares took a significant 13% dive after providing a lackluster forecast and barely meeting Q1 expectations. Their underwhelming performance also put pressure on cloud-computing giants Amazon.com and Microsoft, both recording over 1% losses.

Oil Prices and Economic Forecast

As oil prices escalated over 1%, concerns mount over persistent inflation potentially leading to prolonged high U.S. interest rates. Market stakeholders remain watchful of energy prices which have recently soared. Their focus intensifies with the upcoming inflation readings and the subsequent Federal Reserve meeting on September 20.

Key Stocks and Market Movement

Highlighting individual stock movements, Apple’s shares took a 1.8% hit post the unveiling of its new iPhone lineup. Meanwhile, WestRock’s shares enjoyed a 2.8% rise after the announcement of its merger with Europe’s Smurfit Kappa. On the downside, Advance Auto Parts experienced an 8% decline after its credit ratings were downgraded by S&P Global.

Looking Ahead: The CPI Report

The imminent release of the August CPI report holds Wall Street’s undivided attention. Estimates suggest a year-over-year inflation increase of 3.6%. Inflation expectations and their potential implications on rate adjustments remain at the forefront of investors’ minds, with many speculating a pause in rate hikes during the Federal Reserve’s next convening.

The pivotal factor will be the inflation rates within the economy’s service sector, hinting at the trajectory of wage inflation and overall structural inflation.