Tag: International Markets

US stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, August 18, 2023, as plunging chip stocks and mixed economic data dampened investors' risk appetite. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reversed their weekly advances, while the blue-chip Dow ended the week nominally higher. Investors are concerned about a potential slowdown in the global semiconductor industry and elevated inflation. The Fed's policy meeting next week will be a key event for investors.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell, while the Dow was down slightly. Oracle shares fell 13% after the cloud-services provider forecast current-quarter revenue below targets. Oil prices rose more than 1%, stoking inflation concerns. Investors are awaiting inflation data due on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Nasdaq Composite closed sharply higher on Monday, led by Tesla, Amazon, and Microsoft. Investors are optimistic about artificial intelligence and are looking to August inflation data due later this week for clues about how close the Federal Reserve is to ending its campaign of interest rate hikes.

U.S. stocks ended the week lower as investors awaited upcoming inflation data and weighed mixed signals from Federal Reserve officials on the pace of interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% for the week, the Nasdaq lost 1.9%, and the Dow fell 0.8%. Investors are concerned that rising inflation could lead the Fed to raise rates more aggressively than expected. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August, due out on September 13, is expected to show that inflation remained elevated in August. If the CPI comes in higher than expected, it could pressure the Fed to raise rates more aggressively. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its next meeting on September 20-21. However, the market is also pricing in a possible 50 basis point hike, depending on the CPI data. The stock market is likely to remain volatile in the coming weeks as investors continue to assess the inflation outlook and the Fed's monetary policy stance.