- Stocks wavered on Tuesday after the S&P 500 notched its best winning streak of 2024.
- The benchmark index was nearly flat after closing with its eighth-straight day of gains on Monday.
- Momentum has stalled as investors look for new catalysts to keep the rally going.
The stock market inched higher on Tuesday, though momentum stalled out as investors took a breather following the S&P 500's longest winning streak of the year.
In the past week, improving sentiment spurred the S&P 500 to notch an eight-day rally through Monday's session.
While that's brought equities closer to all-time highs, trades were mixed Tuesday morning. Investors are now looking for a fresh catalyst to keep the rally energized, with attention turning on Federal Reserve commentary expected later this week.
The market will tune into the central bank meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to give a speech on Friday.
Comments on interest rates or macroeconomic data will be top-of-mind for investors. After July's labor data came in weaker-than-expected, the market is pricing in a 71.5% chance of a 25-basis point interest rate cut in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Before Friday's event, the market will tune into payroll growth revisions to be released on Wednesday. The same day, investors will get a more in-depth look at the Fed's thinking on rates and the economy when the minutes from the Fed's July meeting are released.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Tuesday:
- S&P 500: 5,608.72, up 0.01%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 40,804.61, down 0.22% (-91.22 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 17,880.61, up 0.01%
Here's what else is going on today:
- Nvidia will score another earnings win this month, as AI spending is still booming, Wedbush's Dan Ives says.
- What stocks can expect in each of the 4 different presidential outcomes, UBS says.
- 3 'buy signals just flashed across the market, Ned Davis Research said.
- Russia expects it will have to navigate decades of sanctions, a foreign ministry official said.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil decreased 0.75% to $73.81 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched lower to $77.63 a barrel.
- Gold was higher by 0.89% to $2,526.57 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield slid two basis points to 3.84%.
- Bitcoin rose 1.61% to $60,527.