Wall Street’s main indexes closed lower on Tuesday, with technology sector losses outweighing gains in communications services ahead of key inflation reports and the Federal Reserve’s December meeting. Only three out of the 11 major industry sectors ended with gains, as investors wait for the November Consumer Price Index reading and the Producer Price Index report on Thursday.
Mona Mahajan, head of investment strategy at Edward Jones, noted that “there’s a little bit of wait-and-see in the market ahead of the CPI and PPI data this week.” Markets are expecting an uptick in inflation to 2.7% and are looking for a reassuring report that won’t prompt the Fed to change course.
The S&P 500 lost 0.30% to 6,034.91, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.35% to 44,247.83 and the Nasdaq composite slid 0.25% to 19,687.24.
Communication services was the biggest percentage gainer, with a 2.6% advance, led by a 5.6% surge in Alphabet’s shares following the company’s announcement of a new chip. However, technology was the largest sector drag, down 1.3%, largely due to a 6.7% drop in Oracle’s shares after missing Wall Street estimates for the second quarter.
The S&P 500’s largest percentage decliner was Realty, down 1.6%, while the big decliner was Moderna Inc, which fell 9.1% following BofA’s coverage reinstatement with an underperform rating.