Stocks Ease Ahead Of Wednesday's Key Events, Apple Jumps To Record Highs, Bitcoin Tumbles To $66,500: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

Wall Street traded slightly in the red on Tuesday morning as markets took a cautious stance ahead of the inflation report and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.2% by 12:55 p.m. in New York, marking its worst daily performance month-to-date.

Despite the overall market decline, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 avoided losses, buoyed by a strong rally in Apple Inc. AAPL. The Cupertino-based iPhone maker surged 5.9%, mirroring last month’s post-earnings reaction, driven by bullish analyst notes following Tuesday’s WWDC event.

Blue-chip stocks in the Dow Jones fell 0.7%, while small-cap stocks lagged, down 1%. Treasury yields saw little movement, with the benchmark 10-year note holding steady at a 4.46% yield.

Commodities were broadly softer, with gold and silver declining by 0.2% and 1.9%, respectively, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil remained stable at $77 a barrel.

Bitcoin BTC/USD was the day’s biggest underperformer, falling over 4% to $66,500 and eyeing its worst daily performance since late April.

Tuesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.3% lower to $534.10.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA was 0.7% lower to $386.43.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) was flat at $464.60.
• Sector-wise, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up by 1%, while the Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF lagged, down 1.5%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

• FMC Corp. FMC rose 3.5% after Pierre Brondeau returned as president and chief executive officer.
• NextEra Energy Inc. NEE tanked 6.7%, eyeing the worst daily performance since October 2023, after the company issued weaker guidance.
• State Street Corp. STT and BlackRock Inc. BLK fell 4.5% and 1.7%, respectively, after Reuters revealed that a U.S. congressional committee is set to accuse the biggest Wall Street firms over climate-related collusions.
• Affirm Holdings Inc. AFRM rose over 8% after Apple announced the inclusion of the company’s products in Apple Pay later this year.
• DXC Technology Company DXC surged 11.5% amid acquisition interest from Apollo Global Management and Kyndryl Holdings

Read now: Affirm Soars After Apple Partnership Announcement: What It Means For Users

Image generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.