The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) on Tuesday closed up +0.10%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) closed up +0.07%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed down -0.13%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH26) rose +0.12%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQH26) fell -0.11%.
Stock indexes recovered from early losses on Tuesday and settled mixed, with the Nasdaq 100 falling to a 2.75-month low. The S&P 500 recovered from a 1.5-week low and moved higher after Apple jumped more than +3% when it said it will hold a product launch on March 4 and will announce several new devices in the coming weeks. Also, airline stocks rallied on Tuesday, lifting the broader market.
AI fears weighed on stocks on Tuesday amid concerns that the payout from elevated capital spending by tech companies on artificial intelligence will come anytime soon. Also, fears that the latest tools released by Google, Anthropic, and other AI startups are already good enough to disrupt many sectors of the economy, including finance, logistics, software, and trucking. In addition, Tuesday’s selloff in gold and silver weighed on mining stocks.
Tuesday’s US economic news was mixed for stocks. The US Feb NAHB housing market index unexpectedly fell by -1 to a 5-month low of 36, weaker than expectations of an increase to 38. Conversely, the US Feb Empire manufacturing general business conditions survey fell -0.6 to 7.1, a smaller decline than expectations of 6.2.
Fed comments on Tuesday were mainly hawkish. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned that services inflation remains elevated, but there is potential for more interest rate cuts this year if inflation continues to return to the Fed’s 2% target. Also, Fed Governor Michael Barr said, “Based on current conditions and data in hand, it will likely be appropriate to hold interest rates steady for some time as we assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.”
The market’s focus this week will be on corporate earnings results and economic news. On Wednesday, Dec…
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