NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes declined on Tuesday after a report from the New York Federal Reserve highlighted simmering anxiety over the job market, halting a rally that had pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record closing highs a day earlier.
After seven days of a government shutdown in the US hindering key data releases, the September report from the NY Fed showed that the expected level of inflation a year from then was 3.4 percent, compared with 3.2 percent in August.
Economists monitor these secondary readings because shifts in how households view inflation and employment can influence their spending decisions, while investors look to evaluate equity valuations more closely.
At 11:51 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 163.36 points, or 0.35 percent, to 46,531.61, the S&P 500 lost 39.63 points, or 0.59 percent, to 6,700.65 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 217.03 points, or 0.95 percent, to 22,723.03.
“The bottom line is that the labor market is at a standstill,” according to Apollo Global’s chief economist Torsten Slok.
Separately, Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran reiterated his dovish stance on Tuesday, saying that keeping monetary policy restrictive will be risky.
Traders expect the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its meeting later this month, due to a string of reports from last week suggesting a weakening job market. The S&P 500 tech sector fell 0.9 percent with Microsoft down 1 percent, while Broadcom, Oracle and Lam Research declined 2.4 percent, 5.8 percent, and 4.2 percent, respectively.
The losses in tech stocks also weighed on the Nasdaq.
Jefferies upgraded AMD’s rating to “buy” and multiple other brokerages raised their price target on the stock, sending it 2.9 percent higher a day after the chipmaker’s supply deal with OpenAI bolstered the tech rally.
Financials fell 0.17 percent on the S&P 500, and consumer discretionary stocks lost 1.4 percent. Tesla was down 3.7 percent ahead of an event where it is expected to unveil a more affordable version of its best-selling Model Y SUV.
Some analysts expect the upcoming earnings season will grab more focus with forecasts and executive commentary likely to carry more weight in shaping expectations.
Among stocks, Corona beer maker Constellation Brands gained 3.8 percent after posting a smaller-than-expected drop in second-quarter sales.
IBM shares hit a record high and were last up 2.1 percent after announcing a partnership with AI startup Anthropic.
US-listed shares of Trilogy Metals soared 216.7 percent after the White House said it would acquire a 10 percent stake in the company.
AppLovin surged 6.9 percent, recouping nearly half of its losses from the prior session, and topped the S&P 500 after brokerages Citi Research and Oppenheimer allayed concerns after the SEC probe report.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.86-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 279 new highs and 50 new lows on the NYSE and by a 2.18-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and 7 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 105 new highs and 47 new lows.
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