Nasdaq Slides as Tech Stocks Weigh; Dow Hits Record Intraday Before Flat Close

Wall Street saw mixed action with Nasdaq and S&P 500 declining on tech weakness, while Dow edged higher on Home Depot gains. Traders eye Fed updates and Jackson Hole Symposium for rate outlook.

The Nasdaq ended the day just off its lows of the session, tumbling 314.82 points (1.5%) to 21,314.95. The S&P 500 also slid 37.78 points (0.6%) to 6,411.37. The Dow inched up 10.45 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,922.27 after reaching a record intra-day high in early trading.

The Dow benefitted from a surge by shares of Home Depot (HD), as the home improvement retailer shot up by 3.2%. The strong gain by Home Depot came after the company maintained its full-year guidance despite reporting second quarter results that came in modestly below analyst estimates.

Traders are awaiting key economic events this week, including the Feds meeting minutes on Wednesday and the Jackson Hole Symposium starting Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powells speech on Friday could shape interest rate expectations. Markets currently see an 86.9% chance of a quarter-point rate cut in September, according to CMEs FedWatch Tool. Reports on weekly jobless claims, existing home sales and leading economic indicators may also attract some attention in the coming days. The Commerce Department released a report showing a sharp increase by new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of July.

Gold stocks moved sharply lower amid a decrease by the price, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3%. Software stocks are significantly weak, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index tumbling by 2.0% to its lowest closing level in over a month. Semiconductor, networking and computer hardware stocks too became considerably weak, contributing to the steep drop by the Nasdaq. Commercial real estate, housing and transportation stocks turned in strong performances, helping to offset the weakness in the aforementioned sectors.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped by 0.2%. The major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.2%, the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3%.

In the bond market, treasuries regained ground after trending lower over the past few sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, fell by 3.9 bps to 4.30%.

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