Wall Street's main indexes slipped Tuesday as tech-stock losses offset investor optimism over a possible U.S.-Iran arrangement. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average held near last week's record highs, while a decline in Alphabet shares dragged the Nasdaq Composite lower.
At 12:12 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.41 points, or 0.11%, to 53,918.57; the S&P 500 lost 8.70 points, or 0.11%, to 7,744.41, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 92.60 points, or 0.35%, to 26,512.75.
The S&P 500 and the Dow hovered near the all-time highs they hit last week, while the Nasdaq stayed more than 2% from its own record but well above its July lows, when the tech-heavy index slid almost 10% from its peak.
Iran-Oman talks fuel cautious optimism
Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News that recent signals suggested Washington and Tehran were nearing some form of arrangement. Soon after, Qatar's foreign ministry said Iran and Oman were in advanced talks over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
But Ron Albahary, chief investment officer at LNW, cautioned that traders are misguided if they think any resolution would mark the story's last chapter: "Markets are grappling with the prospects of some form of detente". He added that markets were expected to trade directionless ahead of this week's inflation prints.
Brent crude futures held near one-week highs in choppy trading, and the S&P 500 energy sector gained 1.1%, the most among sectors.
Nvidia-linked financing deal lifts asset managers
Apollo Global and Blackstone shares rose between 4% and 6%. Analysts linked the moves to an agreement the firms signed with Nvidia on Monday to build compute-financing platforms aimed at mobilizing more than $500 billion. Nvidia itself ticked up 0.4% in afternoon trading. The S&P 500 financials index rose 0.2% and industrials climbed 0.7%.
However, Alphabet's 3% decline weighed on the S&P 500 communication-services sector and was the biggest drag on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Inflation prints to test the Fed's rate path
Consumer and producer price inflation readings due over the next two days will be crucial in shaping expectations for the Federal Reserve's policy path, given the central bank's focus on its inflation mandate and Chair Kevin Warsh's stance on cutting back rate guidance. Traders are split almost evenly on whether the Fed will raise rates in September or pause, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Rising energy costs tied to the Iran conflict have stoked inflation concerns and complicated the rate paths of central banks globally.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.52-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and the S&P 500 notched 17 new 52-week highs against just one new low.
Source: Investing.com
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
