Wall Street mixed ahead of economic data; CPI in focus

Wall Street stocks closed mixed on Monday as investors braced for a slew of US economic data this week, especially consumer prices, to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell. The benchmark S&P 500 index and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed higher.

The Russell 2000 Index, focused on small companies, dropped 0.9%.

“The jumping to a rotation towards small cap companies, like the Russell 2000 and cyclicals in general and financials, was a very popular trade a few weeks ago and that’s really unwound itself,” said James Abate, chief investment officer at Centre Asset Management in New York.

“If you look at the trends in earnings and growth, we don’t have a broadening and expanding economy that will support a broadening out yet of growth and stock price appreciation.”

Investors are awaiting Wednesday’s US consumer price index reading and retailer earnings to assess demand by shoppers.

The CPI data is expected to show headline inflation accelerated 0.2% in July from June, but unchanged at 3% on a year-on-year basis.

Money markets are evenly betting on a 25- or 50-basis-point cut in US interest rates in September, expecting a total easing of 100 bps by the end 2024, CME’s FedWatch Tool showed.

Figures for July US retail sales on Thursday are likely to show marginal growth, and investors expect that any weakness in the data could reignite fears of a consumer slowdown and a potential recession.

Walmart and Home Depot are due to report earnings later this week.

“Retail earnings are another indication of the health of the consumer particularly in light of the unemployment rate ticking up in the most recent report,” Abate said.

“One thing that could be a significant disappointment to the market is if the CPI number comes out higher than consensus.”

The S&P 500 gained 0.23 points to end at 5,344.39 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 35.31 points, or 0.21%, to 16,780.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 140.53 points, or 0.36%, to 39,357.01.

Starbucks rose 2.58% on reports that activist investor Starboard Value, which holds a stake in the coffee giant, wants the company to take steps to improve its stock price.

KeyCorp jumped 9.1% after Canada’s Scotiabank bought a minority stake in the US regional lender in an all-stock deal worth USD 2.8 billion. Hawaiian Electric dropped 14.45% after the utility firm raised “going concern” doubts.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.54-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and seven new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 51 new highs and 179 new lows.

(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)