U.S. stocks were mostly lower around midday Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing into the green after earlier losses, as traders awaited Apple’s marketing event this afternoon. Investors were also looking ahead to the widely anticipated reading on August inflation from the consumer-price index on Wednesday.
How stock indexes are trading
-
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
was up almost 55 points, or 0.2%, at around 34,718. -
The S&P 500
SPX
fell almost 13 points, or 0.3%, to around 4,475. -
The Nasdaq Composite
COMP
shed 85 points, or 0.6%, to 13,833.
What’s driving markets
U.S. stocks were mostly slipping Tuesday, with traders reluctant to make bold bullish bets ahead of potential market catalysts on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, Apple Inc. will release of its new iPhones. The technology giant’s shares
AAPL,
were down more than 1% around midday as investors wait to see what the world’s biggest listed company has in store at its marketing event, scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
Read also: The iPhone 15 is coming: Everything to expect from Apple’s big event
“Welcome to my annual day of being seduced into buying a new iPhone that I don’t really need but desperately want,” said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank. “Apple launch their new product suite today which actually is a potential macro mover.”
Most of the S&P 500 index’s 11 sectors were trading down midday Tuesday, with information technology seeing the biggest decline at around 1%, according to FactSet data, at last check. Tech has the heaviest weight in the S&P 500 index.
Looming inflation
Meanwhile, investors are looking ahead to a reading on August inflation, as measured by the consumer-price index, or CPI, on Wednesday morning before the U.S. stock market’s open.
“CPI remains the most important monthly economic metric for the simple reason that if CPI does not continue to decline, markets will have to price in a more hawkish Fed, and that would be a headwind on stocks,” said Tom Essaye, founder and president of Sevens Report Research, in a note Tuesday.
“Sensitivity to this report will be especially high tomorrow because there have been anecdotal signs that inflation may be leveling off or bouncing back,” he said.
A “good” CPI report would show core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, rose 0.2% or less in August, according to Essaye. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal have forecast that core CPI increased 0.2% last month and 4.3% year over year.
Core inflation had climbed 4.7% in the 12 months through July, as measured by the consumer-price index.
“A continued drop in core CPI will help to calm concerns that inflation is bouncing back, and that could trigger a solid drop in Treasury yields and a good relief rally in stocks,” said Essaye.
See: Inflation is set for a big increase, CPI to show. Here’s why.
Companies in focus
-
Oracle Corp.
ORCL,
-12.59%
dropped more than 11% after the cloud database company’s issued revenue outlook fell below Wall Street expectations. -
Canopy Growth Corp.
CGC,
-15.38%
shares tumbled more than 11% after a sharp jump earlier built on growing hopes that the federal government will ease laws on cannabis.
Jamie Chisholm contributed to this report
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