Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 10, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stocks fell on Tuesday, as traders digested a year-end rally to record levels. They also awaited new U.S. inflation data set for release this week.
The S&P 500 lost 0.3% to end at 6,034.91, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.25% to 19,687.24. Both indexes booked back-to-back losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined for a fourth day, sliding 154.10 points or 0.35%, to 44,247.83.
Oracle shares slumped 6.7% after the database software company posted fiscal second quarter results that missed Wall Street’s estimates. The stock has jumped around 68% this year.
“[The market] has been narrowing over the past week,” CFRA Research’s chief investment strategist Sam Stovall said to CNBC. “Investors are waiting to see if that simply is your traditional seasonal softness in mid-December, and I think [they] are expecting the participation to broaden out once again as the market does indeed go through an end-of-year pop.”
Alphabet was a breakout winner of the session, advancing 5.6%, on the backs of Google making a major breakthrough in quantum computing with the unveiling of its new chip. That puts its year-to-date gains at more than 32%.
This comes after the major averages fell on Monday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite slid about 0.6%, dropping from recent records as shares of Nvidia declined. Shares of the chip giant were more than 2% lower Tuesday, extending losses seen in the previous session after a Chinese regulator said it was investigating the company for possibly violating the country’s antimonopoly law.
By contrast, Meta Platforms – which also saw losses in the previous session – was up 1% Tuesday.
Investors are now waiting on the U.S. consumer price index report, which is due Wednesday and could influence how the Federal Reserve proceeds on interest rates at its Dec. 17-18 meeting. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast that headline inflation rose 0.3% in November and 2.7% over the prior 12 months.
