On Tuesday, US benchmark equity indexes were experiencing difficulty in establishing a clear direction as traders digested the latest producer price report while anticipating the official figures on consumer inflation. The Nasdaq Composite index found itself down 0.7%, settling at 18,955.8, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.3% to a total of 5,820.2.
In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average made a modest gain, rising 0.2% to reach 42,366.7. A closer look at sector performances reveals that communication services faced the sharpest decline, while utility sectors took the lead in gains. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US producer price growth unexpectedly decelerated on a sequential basis last month.
This was attributed to stable wholesale costs of services alongside a cooling of price gains in goods. Traders are also bracing for upcoming consumer price index data expected to be released on Wednesday, with analysts predicting a 0.4% increase sequentially and a 2.9% annual rise for December, as per a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. In bond markets, the yield on the US two-year note decreased by 3.9 basis points to 4.36%, paralleling a slight decline in the 10-year rate, which lost 1.5 basis points to 4.79%.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil saw a reduction of 1.5%, settling at $77.61 per barrel. The prominent indices, signified as $US30 and $US500, continue to capture the attention of traders as they respond to these economic indicators..