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Investing.com– U.S. stock indices slipped lower Monday, as a recent rally on Wall Street cooled in anticipation of more cues on inflation and the Federal Reserve later this week.
By 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), the was down 62 points, or 0.2%, traded 12 points, or 0.2%, lower and dropped 73 points, or 0.5%.
Wall Street consolidates after strong rally
Investors have taken some money off the table at the start of a holiday-shortened week, consolidating ahead of the release of widely-anticipated inflation data as well as more comments from Federal Reserve officials, which could dictate future monetary policy thinking.
data, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is due this Friday, when the market is on holiday for Good Friday. Given that the Fed recently reiterated its stance that inflation will drive the path of interest rate cuts in 2024, markets were on guard ahead of the reading.
While U.S. inflation has fallen considerably in the past year amid high interest rates, it still remains well above the Fed’s 2% annual target – a trend that has remained a major point of contention for the central bank.
A slew of Fed officials are also due to speak this week, with rate-setting committee members and set to speak on Monday and Friday, respectively.
is also set to speak during the week, after striking a somewhat dovish tone at a Fed meeting last week.
Traders now see a 75% chance of the Fed bringing in the first cut in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool, up from around 55% at the start of last week.
Wall Street indexes surged to record highs last week, and are course for a fifth consecutive month of gains, after the Fed signaled it will cut interest rates at least thrice this year, while persistent hype over artificial intelligence also drove investors into heavyweight technology stocks, particularly Nvidia (NASDAQ:).
Wall Street consolidates after strong rally
In corporate news, Apple (NASDAQ:), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:) stocks all fell by around 1% after EU antitrust regulators launched investigations into the tech giants for potential breaches of the Digital Markets Act, potentially leading to hefty fines for the companies.
Intel (NASDAQ:) and AMD (NASDAQ:) stock both fell around 3% after the Financial Times reported that China would limit the use of their chips and servers in government computers, potentially hitting key sales.
Boeing (NYSE:) stock rose 2.3% after the aircraft manufacturer announced significant management changes on Monday, with Dave Calhoun to step down as CEO at the end of 2024.
United Airlines (NASDAQ:) stock fell 4.5% after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s move to increase its oversight of the carrier after a series of recent safety incidents.
Crude rises on ceasefire doubts
Oil prices rose Monday as the chances of a Gaza ceasefire dimmed, adding to concerns of tightening global supply conditions.
By 09:35 ET, the futures traded 1.2% higher at $81.60 a barrel, while the contract climbed 1% to $85.69 per barrel.
Both benchmarks fell around 1% last week, with a stronger U.S. dollar, which rose about 1% over the last week, keeping a lid on prices.
The United Nations Security Council will vote, later on Monday, on an alternative resolution for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza strip for Ramadan, as well as the release of all hostages by Hamas.
However, this resolution was tabled almost immediately after China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-led resolution, leaving open the likelihood that U.S. officials retaliate with their veto this time.
A deescalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict would likely soothe concerns over geopolitical instability in the oil-rich Middle East region.
The prospect of tighter supplies put oil prices at four-month highs earlier in March, on the back of reduced Russian fuel output, following Ukrainian strikes on major refineries, as well as steadily shrinking U.S. inventories.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
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