Last Updated: 4:20 PM EST
Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the red. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 0.24%, 0.2%, and 0.15%, respectively. Earlier today, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman shared some concerns about cutting interest rates and pointed out that inflation risks are still on the table.
Bowman is one of the Fed’s more cautious voices and made it clear that she isn’t ready to back a rate cut at the September meeting. In fact, she warned that focusing too much on one piece of data could mess with the progress made in controlling inflation.
Bowman also brought up issues with the labor market. According to her, recent job reports have some inconsistencies that call for a careful approach. Bowman noted that while job growth might have been overestimated, the rise in unemployment could be making the job market look weaker than it really is, making it harder to get a clear picture of the economy.
First Published: 5:06 AM EST
U.S. futures ticked higher on Tuesday morning following a strong trading session yesterday. Investor sentiment remains upbeat, with expectations of possible interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve next month. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up by about 0.19%, 0.11%, and 0.03%, respectively, at 4:29 a.m. EST, August 20.
In regular trading on Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched their eighth consecutive day of gains, the longest in 2024. Further, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added to its five-day winning streak.
Interestingly, investors who had pulled back from the stock market in early August went on a buying spree last week as stocks rebounded. Tech and cyclical stocks were particularly popular. This renewed market optimism was driven by strong retail sales figures and a softer-than-expected inflation report, which alleviated recession fears.
In major stock market news, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gained 4.5% following the announcement that the chipmaker has agreed to buy data center infrastructure provider ZT Systems. Moreover, Nvidia (NVDA) stock surged 4.4% after Goldman Sachs (GS) analysts indicated they expect strong data center demand despite the Blackwell chip delay. On the other hand, Estee Lauder (EL) was down 2.2% after the company reported a sharp decline of 61% in earnings per share for Q424.
In today’s earnings report calendar, Lowe’s (LOW), Medtronic (MDT), and XPeng (XPEV) will release their quarterly numbers. It should be noted that no important economic reports are scheduled for release today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was up, floating near 3.869% at the time of writing. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures are trending lower, hovering near $73.50 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European indices opened higher on Tuesday morning, buoyed by subsiding recession fears and expectations of a possible U.S. interest rate cut next month.
Asia-Pacific Markets Traded Mixed on Tuesday
Asia-Pacific indices were mixed today as investors digested the decision of the People’s Bank of China to keep its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.33%. Further, China’s Shenzhen Component and Shanghai Composite indices declined by 1.24% and 0.93%, respectively. However, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices closed up by 1.8% and 1.11%, respectively.
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