Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Off to a rough start
Stocks kicked off the new month in the red, with all three major averages suffering their worst days since the Aug. 5 global market sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 600 points during Tuesday’s session, moving 1.51% lower to close at 40,936.93. The S&P 500 moved 2.12% lower, finishing the session at 5,528.93. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite saw the biggest percentage drop of the three, falling 3.26% to close at 17,136.30. Follow live market updates.
2. Still in a slump
Workers assemble second-generation R1 vehicles at electric auto maker Rivian’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois, U.S. June 21, 2024.
Joel Angel Juarez | Reuters
U.S. manufacturing contracted in August, marking yet another month in slowdown mode. According to the Institute for Supply Management’s monthly survey of purchasing managers, only 47.2% reported expansion during August, which is below the 50% threshold that indicates activity in the sector. The reading is also below the consensus estimate of 47.9%, per Dow Jones. However, the August reading was still slightly better than the 46.8% reported for July. “Demand remains subdued, as companies show an unwillingness to invest in capital and inventory due to current federal monetary policy and election uncertainty,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. That said, Fiore added that a reading higher than 42.5% generally signals broader economic expansion.
3. Snowballing
An Nvidia Blackwell GPU is displayed at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 4, 2024.
Ann Wang | Reuters
Shares of Nvidia spiraled on Tuesday, bringing other chip stocks down with it. The AI darling fell nearly 10% during the session, removing $279 billion from its market cap. Other key names plunged as well on Tuesday, with Marvell and Intel losing more than 8% and AMD losing 7.8%. Adding fuel to the fire, Nvidia shares also fell in early trading Wednesday following a Bloomberg report that the chipmaker got a subpoena from the Department of Justice related to an antitrust investigation. The investigation, however, has not yet reached the formal complaint stage, Bloomberg said.
4. Blocked
Jaque Silva | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Starlink is officially going to block X in Brazil. The SpaceX satellite internet service said it will block the Musk-owned social media platform in order to continue operations in the country without risking its license. Musk also owns SpaceX. The decision comes after a panel of Brazilian supreme court justices voted unanimously to uphold orders blocking X nationwide. The court also decided to freeze the financial assets of Starlink in Brazil as a way to make sure X pays its fines.
5. Spending slowdown ahead?
A shopping cart sits in front of a Dick’s Sporting Goods store on August 26, 2020 in Daly City, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
It’s a win for Dick’s Sporting Goods. The retailer beat Wall Street’s expectations for the fiscal second quarter, earning $4.37 per share on $3.47 billion in revenue. That’s above the $3.83 per share on revenue of $3.44 billion expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG. While the company raised its full-year outlook, the forecast appears cautious when compared against expectations. This comes amid fears of a potential consumer spending slowdown as November’s presidential election draws near.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Fred Imbert, Jeff Cox, Kif Leswing, Lora Kolodny and Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.
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