Wall Street Eases, Bonds Rise, US Dollar Falls To 8-Month Low: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

Author: Piero Cingari | August 20, 2024 01:45pm

It’s a relatively uneventful session on Wall Street, but with a slightly worsening risk sentiment as all U.S. equity indices traded in the red at around midday trading in New York. If the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 close lower today, it will break their current eight-day winning streak, a run that has nearly erased the losses sustained earlier this month.

Traders remain cautious as they await key economic events later this week. On Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its “2024 Preliminary Benchmark Revision to Establishment Data,” which will include non-farm payroll revisions covering the period from April 2023 to March 2024.

Later in the day, at 2 p.m. E.T., the Federal Reserve will release the minutes from the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

The Jackson Hole Symposium kicks off on Thursday, where Fed officials are expected to make headlines during media interviews. On Friday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will take center stage with a live address at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Small caps underperformed large cap on Tuesday, and nine out of 11 S&P 500 sectors were in negative territory, with the exclusion of healthcare and consumer staples.

A measure of the U.S. dollar fell 0.4%, tumbling to the lowest level since late December 2023. The Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF (NYSE:UUP) is experiencing its worst three-day performance year-to-date.

Treasury yields also fell, with more significant declines at the long end of the curve. The long-dated iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) rose 0.8%, poised for its third consecutive session in the green and the seventh in the last eight.

Meanwhile, gold remained steady at record-high levels of $2,500 per ounce, while oil prices declined by another 0.5%, marking their third straight drop. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) slipped 1.2% to $58,755.

Tuesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %chg
S&P 500	5,596.06	-0.2%
Dow Jones	40,798.22	-0.2%
Nasdaq 100	19,688.81	-0.4%
Russell 2000	2,142.31	-1.3%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was 0.3% lower to $558.24.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) eased 0.1% to $408.70.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) edged 0.4% lower to $479.50.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 1.3% to $212.42.
• The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) and The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) outperformed, both up by 0.3%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) lagged, down by 2.1%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

• Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rallied 8.6% in reaction to its better-than-expected quarterly results.
• Other stocks reacting to company earnings were Lowes Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW), down 1.3%, Medtronic plc. (NYSE:MDT) up 1.9%, Fabrinet (NYSE:FN) up 19%.
• PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) rose 3.1% after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised the stock price target from $77 to $80.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) rose by 2% after the company reported that a three-year phase 3 study demonstrated that weekly tirzepatide injections reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 94% in obese or overweight adults with pre-diabetes, compared to those who received a placebo.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) tumbled over 4% after announcing that it is grounding its 777X test fleet due to issues discovered in an engine mounting structure.

Read Now:

• Jackson Hole Preview: 5 Important Questions Ahead Of Jerome Powell’s Fed Speech

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