- US stocks dipped lower as investors appear to be on hold ahead of Nvidia's earnings report.
- The chip stalwart's performance will determine the strength of the AI rally.
US stocks fell Tuesday as shares in tech continued to decline ahead of Nvidia's highly anticipated earnings report.
Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average scored a fresh record in Monday's session, each index slipped Tuesday morning. With Nvidia's earnings now just a day away, investors appear to be on hold.
The market is bracing for the semiconductor firm to potentially move the market, with Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives previously citing this as 2024's "most important week."
Nvidia, which will report earnings after Wednesday's closing bell, has become the symbol of the artificial intelligence trade. Given how essential its chips are to developing AI technology, any earnings weakness could dent this year's major tech rally.
The bulls are still resolute that if Nvidia continues to perform as well as it did in the past, its success will lift the broader market.
Market-moving data will follow later in the week, with jobless claims and PCE Index data coming in on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Both data points could influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision in September, and although policy loosening appears guaranteed at next month's policy meeting, investors continue to debate how deep rate cuts may be.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Tuesday:
- S&P 500: 5,595.64, down 0.38%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 41,183.28, down 0.4% (-22.40 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 17,596.24, down 0.72%
Here's what else happened today:
- Russia is embracing crypto as sanctions create payment problems, report says.
- Exxon expects oil and gas to be the dominant energy source in 2050.
- 4 forces will challenge the dollar's reign, think tank researchers say.
- Investors should load up on the market's cheapest stocks, Jeremy Grantham's GMO says.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil slumped 0.94% to $76.69 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 2.1% to $81.01 a barrel.
- Gold inched down by 0.34% to $2,509.5 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield gained four basis points to 3.86%.
- Bitcoin slid 0.76% to $62,433.