(Bloomberg) -- Wall Street traders bracing for a key inflation reading left stocks wavering near all-time highs, while bonds and the dollar edged up. Bitcoin pared a rally that earlier drove it above $122,000.
With the earnings season almost done, investors are shifting gears to the economic picture, looking for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will be able to resume its rate cuts in September. Following an almost 30% surge from its April lows, the S&P 500 hovered near 6,400.
Subscribe to the Stock Movers Podcast on Apple, Spotify and other Podcast Platforms.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.27%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%.
US consumers probably experienced a slight pickup in underlying inflation in July as retailers gradually raised prices on a variety of items subject to higher import duties.
The core consumer price index, regarded as a measure of underlying inflation because it strips out volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3% in July, according to the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists. In June, core CPI edged up 0.2% from the prior month.
"The market shrugged off more tariff headlines last week, but it faces fresh test from this week's inflation and retail sales data," said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. "The market's reaction to any surprises in the numbers could be exaggerated—especially if a significantly hotter-than-expected CPI print leads traders to believe the Fed may not cut rates at its next meeting."
Corporate Highlights:
Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US government in a deal to secure export licenses, an unusual arrangement that may unnerve both US companies and Beijing.
Micron Technology Inc. raised its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings outlook, citing "improved pricing" for a key product.
C3.ai Inc. sank as DA Davidson cut the stock to underperform following preliminary results from the software company that came in "significantly below guidance."
Paramount has acquired the exclusive rights to show all events from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the US over the next seven years, the companies announced Monday, a $7.7 billion deal designed to boost the Paramount+ streaming service.
Rumble Inc., the online video network platform, announced its intent to buy AI firm Northern Data.
Denmark's plan to inject billions of dollars into Orsted A/S has sparked political backlash at a time when taxpayers are already spending more on defense and the fiscal bonanza from drug giant Novo Nordisk A/S is fading.
Lithium prices and stocks spiked after battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. halted operations at a major mine in China, spurring speculation that Beijing might move to suspend other projects as it tackles overcapacity across the economy.
Barrick Mining Corp. posted a net charge of $1.04 billion related to the seizure of its vast Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex by Mali's military junta.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 was little changed as of 9:30 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
- The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed
- The MSCI World Index was little changed
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
- The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1622
- The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3426
- The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 147.89 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.9% to $119,483.89
- Ether fell 0.8% to $4,184.29
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.27%
- Germany's 10-year yield was little changed at 2.70%
- Britain's 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.57%
- The yield on 2-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.76%
- The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.83%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $64.21 a barrel
- Spot gold fell 1.3% to $3,351.96 an ounce
- More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
