US benchmark equity indexes experienced a downturn from Monday's record high closing levels, as market participants analyzed remarks from two Federal Reserve officials while awaiting official consumer inflation data for October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 0.9% on Tuesday, closing at 43,911, while the S&P 500 declined by 0.3% to 5,984.
The Nasdaq Composite recorded a minor loss of 0.1%, settling at 19,281.4. Among the sectors, materials faced the steepest decline, whereas communication services, technology, and consumer staples noted gains. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin stated that the US economy is in 'a good place,' highlighting that interest rates are no longer at their recent peak and are well below historic highs.
He emphasized that this positions policymakers to 'respond appropriately' irrespective of economic developments. In a separate comment, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari described the US monetary policy as 'modestly restrictive.' He noted that short-term borrowing costs are playing a key role in tempering inflation and slowing economic activity, albeit not drastically, as reported by Reuters. On Thursday, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee opted to reduce its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, following a previous cut of 50 basis points in September. The US 10-year yield climbed 12 basis points to 4.43% on Tuesday, while the two-year rate improved by 8.6 basis points to reach 4.34%. In related economic news, consumer inflation expectations in the US saw a decline in October, and concerns regarding the labor market also eased, per a survey conducted by the New York Fed. Official data, scheduled for release on Wednesday, is anticipated to show a 0.2% rise in US consumer inflation month-over-month and a 2.6% annual increase for the previous month, based on a consensus compiled by Bloomberg. Furthermore, official producer prices data for October is set to be disclosed on Thursday. Small business optimism in the US surged more than anticipated in October, although the uncertainty index hit a record high.
Experts believe this is likely to improve following the conclusion of the presidential election, as per the latest survey from the National Federation of Independent Business. Donald Trump was declared the winner of the election last week, marking his return to the White House. In corporate developments, Mosaic experienced a 7.7% drop in its shares, the largest decline on the S&P 500, following third-quarter financial results that fell short of expectations. Amgen also had a challenging day, ranking as the worst performer on both the Dow and the Nasdaq, and among the underperformers on the S&P 500, down 7.1%. Contrarily, Tyson Foods outperformed expectations on both top and bottom lines for its fiscal fourth quarter, while providing guidance that implies a modest slowdown in sales for the upcoming year amidst ongoing challenges in its beef division.
The stock rose 6.6%, making it the leading gainer on the S&P 500. Live Nation Entertainment saw its shares increase by 4.7%, ranking among the top performers on the S&P 500. The company revealed mixed third-quarter results late Monday but expressed optimism regarding strong demand for its Ticketmaster sales segment in the current quarter and into 2025. West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices remained stable at $68.01 per barrel on Tuesday.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries lowered its projections for global oil demand for 2024 and 2025 for the fourth consecutive month while revising its world economic growth forecasts upward. Gold prices slid by 0.4% to $2,607 per troy ounce, while silver prices increased by 1% to settle at $30.92 per ounce..