The Dow briefly fought its way into positive territory this afternoon
Stocks managed to pare most of their losses on Monday, but still settled modestly below breakeven. Interest rate hike fears haunted Wall Street for most of the day, with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's hawkish speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium still ringing in investors' ears.
After being down over 300 points at its session lows, and briefly reaching positive territory, the Dow ultimately finished 184 points lower. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also finished in the red, with the tech sector bearing the brunt of those losses. Amid today's whipsaw price action, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) settled at its highest level since July 14.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Sector headwinds could weigh on this blue-chip stock.
- Etsy stock brushes off seller pushback.
- Plus, Chinese stock enjoys post-earnings pop; Netflix prices ad-supported version; and what hurt CTLT.
The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 32,098.99) dropped 184.4 points, or 0.6% for the day. Walmart (WMT ) led the gainers, adding 1%. Salesforce (CRM) paced the laggards with a 3% drop.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,030.61) shed 27.1 points, or 0.7% for the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 12,017.67) lost 124 points, or 1% for the session.
Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 26.21) added 0.7 point, or 2.5% for the day.
5 Things to Know Today
- Honda Motor and LG Energy Solution plan to build a $4.4 billion battery plant for electric vehicles in the U.S., which could begin production by late 2025. (CNBC)
- Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) surged ahead of a "business and strategic update," with meme-stock traders taking aim at the home goods retailer. (MarketWatch)
- China-based stock rises on upbeat second-quarter results.
- Ad-supported version of Netflix bound to hit the market soon.
- Declining Covid-related product revenue hurt Catalent stock.
Oil Rallies as Tensions Build in Libya
Oil prices moved higher on Monday to settle at their highest level in one month. Boosting black gold today was the risk of a civil war breaking out in Libya, as well as expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will cut production. October-dated crude added $3.95, or 4.2%, to close at $97.01 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold prices finished modestly lower as Treasury yields rose. A weaker U.S. dollar capped those losses, however, as traders eyed the release of monthly jobs data later this week. December-dated gold shed 10 cents to close at $1,749.70 an ounce.