As traders and investors gauge the outlook regarding future interest rate hikes, U.S. stocks flattened out on Tuesday although the Nasdaq somehow managed another record high close.
Grocers results were poor, with sprout farmers the hardest hit. There was a 14 percent drop for sprout shares to $19.69, Kroger shares were down 5 percent to $31.33 and Whole Foods shares dropped 6 percent to $29.09.
Investors have been focused on the Federal Reserve, trying to ascertain how close the central bank is to raising interest rates. Most expect the Fed to hold back on any major changes due to the disappointing jobs report last week together with other discouraging data.
The Fed has been coy on any firm change date, recently commenting on a decent economic expansion in the last quarter.
“After the past week’s moderate jobs report, most observers are getting the distinct impression rates will remain low for the foreseeable future,” said Michael Lane, Global Co-Head of the Investment Management Division at Shizuoka Capital Wealth Management. “We are probably going to see the same story at the ECB [European Central Bank] where policymakers will be tempted to keep rates at rock bottom.”
The largest company in the world by market capitalization, Apple Inc, saw its shares jump 0.8 percent to $108.35 after they unveiled their brand new iPhone 7.
After a health scandal, Chipotle Mexican Grill shares began to see some improvement rising 6 percent to $438.44. The chain was given fresh momentum with a 10 percent stake buy in from Pershing Square Capital owned by William Ackman, who said he would restructure the company at the executive level.
Leading the way on the trading floor yesterday were Delta Air shares, after the company announced better-than-expected sales for the last quarter. They were also helped by rival Southwest revealing they would cut their growth in chartered flights to South America next year.
However, share trading was the lowest seen for 30 days yesterday at around $5.9 billion compared to the $6.7 billion daily average. The Dow Jones average slumped 12 points to 18,526.15 and the S&P 500 index lost 0.32 points to 2,186.16. The Nasdaq result of an 8 point gain was a record close yet again for the benchmark gauge, a surprise for such a slow day.
