Big Jump for Nvidia Offsets Wall Street's Losses

Traders are waiting for reports on inflation, consumer spending
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 12, 2024 3:37 PM CDT
Stocks Hold Steady Ahead of Major Economic Reports
The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in New York.   (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Wall Street closed mixed on Monday after drifting through a quiet day of trading, as markets around the world stabilized following a wild week.

  • The S&P 500 rose 0.23 points, or less than 0.1%, to 5,344.39.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 140.53 points, or 0.4%, to 39,357.01.
  • The Nasdaq composite rose 35.31 points, or 0.2%, to 16,780.6.
The majority of US stocks fell, but a 4.1% jump for Nvidia helped to offset those losses, the AP reports. Because it's one of the largest US stocks by value, Nvidia's movements carry extra weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes. European and Asian markets were also relatively quiet. The value of the Japanese yen eased, providing some relief to markets worldwide.

KeyCorp jumped 9.1% after the regional bank announced a $2.8 billion investment from the Bank of Nova Scotia. The Cleveland bank said the cash influx will allow it to drive further growth in its investment banking and wealth management businesses. On the losing end was Hawaiian Electric, which reported weaker results for the spring than analysts expected. The company also said it's not sure it will be able to last at least another year in business unless it can find financing to help pay the estimated $1.71 billion in liabilities it has built up related to the Maui windstorm and wildfire. Its stock sank 14.5%

This upcoming week will feature reports on inflation and how much US shoppers are spending at retailers. The best-case scenario for Wall Street would be data showing a continued slowdown in inflation, combined with strengthening US retail sales. That would indicate the Federal Reserve is successfully walking the tightrope it's been attempting since it began hiking interest rates sharply in 2022: It wants the US economy to slow by enough to snuff out high inflation, but not so much that it causes a recession. A string of worse-than-expected economic data recently has raised worries the Fed may be leaning too far to one side on the tightrope after keeping its main interest rate at a two-decade high.

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A string of worse-than-expected economic data recently has raised worries the Fed may be leaning too far to one side on the tightrope after keeping its main interest rate at a two-decade high. For the inflation data, meanwhile, strategists at Bank of America led by Ohsung Kwon say a hotter-than-expected reading would be a bigger surprise for the market than a cooler-than-expected figure. That could lead to "a major downside event" for the market if inflation readings come in worse than forecast. Several big companies will also report their latest earnings results later in the week, including Walmart and Home Depot.
(More stock market stories.)

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