Stock market today: Dow falls a second day while tech stocks shake off inflation
Investing.com — Stocks lost their earlier upward momentum after August's inflation report came in mostly at expectations, stoking hopes the Federal Reserve is reaching the end of its interest rate increases.
At 16:01 ET (20:01 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 70 points or 0.2% while the S&P 500 ended higher by 0.1% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.3%.
The three major Wall Street indices were weighed down on Tuesday by sharp losses from Oracle (NYSE:ORCL). The computer software company notched its worst day in more than 20 years on the back of disappointing revenue guidance. For the Dow, Wednesday's fall was its second in a row.
The focus Wednesday was the U.S. consumer price index, which investors are using gauge the likely path of U.S. interest rates over the rest of the year.
The annual headline inflation in the world's largest economy rose 3.7%, slightly higher than the expected 3.6% during the month of August, as energy prices soared, but the core reading, which strips out volatile items like food and fuel, rose 4.3%, as expected.
Thursday will bring readings on producer prices and retail sales.
Recent remarks from Fed officials suggest another pause is the most likely outcome of next week's rate-setting meeting, but uncertainty still remains over what they may choose to do later on in 2023.
In the corporate sector, Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) are likely to benefit from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that all Americans ages six months and older receive updated Covid vaccines from the two drugmakers. Moderna shares were up 3.1%, while Pfizer was down 0.2%.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will also remain in focus after the tech giant revealed four new iPhone
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