Stock market today: Nasdaq heads for tough run into September as Nvidia sales continue
US stocks tumbled on Tuesday to kick off a historically tough month for markets, as AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) and chip stocks dropped tech prices. Meanwhile, attention is focused on a week of data on the economy and the labor market highlighted by the important monthly jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 1%, or more than 400 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) returned 2.4%.
Stocks are falling near record highs as Wall Street hunts after August, in anticipation of a tumultuous September. Investors are weighing the risk of data shocks or surprises in the presidential race in what is usually a bad month for traders.
Early trading on Tuesday did not bode well. Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell more than 7% Tuesday, as investors continued to pull back after a lackluster earnings report and lingering questions about the future of the AI business. Other chip stocks fell similarly, with Broadcom (AVGO), Qualcomm (QCOM), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) all down more than 5%.
Also top of mind is the August jobs report, due out on Friday, which could profoundly influence how the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates at its meeting this month. Now that inflation is cooling, policymakers are on the lookout for labor market contraction.
For investors, the focus is on whether signs of a slowdown in the July jobs report were exaggerated – or an early warning of a bigger slowdown. Any suggestions of stress should put pressure on the Fed to make a bigger reduction in rates. As of Tuesday, traders were buying rates at a 31% cut of 50 basis points instead of 25 basis points, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
U.S. manufacturing rose last month, according to new figures from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). But the metric showed slowing factory performance, with the number below the threshold that suggests a slowdown in the manufacturing sector.
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