Wall Street Ends Lower Ahead of Key Inflation Data, Oil Stocks Lead Declines

U.S. stocks fell as traders awaited major economic reports, with oil service and energy stocks dragging markets down. Asia-Pacific mostly gained while Europe closed mixed and treasury yields edged lower.

The Dow slid 200.52 points (0.5%) to 43,975.09, Nasdaq fell 64.62 points (0.3%) to 21,385.40 and the S&P 500 dipped 16.00 points (0.3%) to 6,373.45.

Choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders held back ahead of key economic reports due in the coming days. The Labor Department's July consumer price inflation data, due Tuesday, could influence interest rate expectations. Core prices, excluding food and energy, are expected to rise 0.3% after Junes 0.2% increase, with annual growth seen at 3% versus 2.9%.

 

Ahead of the data, CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates an 86.5% probability that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by a quarter point next month. Additional reports on producer price inflation, retail sales, and industrial production are also set to draw attention in the days ahead, potentially shaping market sentiment.

Oil service stocks significant moved downwards, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index slumped 2.1% despite a modest increase by the price of crude oil. Oil producer and transportation stocks too were notably weak, contributing to the moderately lower close by the broader markets.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index crept up by 0.2%. The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.4%, the German DAX Index fell by 0.3% and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6%.

In the bond market, treasuries saw modest strength 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, edged down by 1.2 bps to 4.27%.

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