The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 100 points on Tuesday as market participants look ahead towards the Federal Reserve's June policy decision and May's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, both due out on Wednesday. The S&P 500 Index rose nearly 0.3% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9%.
Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.27% or +14.53 points to 5,375.32
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.31% or -120.62 points to 38,747.42
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.88% or +151.02 points to 17,343.55
In Focus:
The Fed began its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with investors mostly expecting central banker's will hold interest rates at their current target range of 5.25% to 5.50%. Market participants will also turn their attention to remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell Wednesday afternoon for more clues on potential rate cuts in the second half of the year, as the U.S. economy and labor market begin to show some signs of slowing in recent weeks.
Still, May's CPI data slated for release Wednesday morning and last month's Producer Price Index reading due out Thursday will also give more signs of the health of the economy.
Apple:
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares popped over 6% to a new record high intraday on Tuesday, as market participants were encouraged by the company's artificial intelligence features unveiled during its annual Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday.
"Following a WWDC that delivered on the key details we were focused on heading into the event, we have even greater conviction that Apple is on the cusp of a multi-year product refresh that underpins our [Overweight] rating, $216 price target, and $270 bull case valuation," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note Tuesday.
However, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on Monday threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies after the tech giant revealed it is partnering with OpenAI.
"It's patently absurd that Apple isn't smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security & privacy!," Musk wrote in a post on his platfrom X, formerly known as Twitter.
On Tuesday, Apple announced that users will soon be able to use Affirm's (NASDAQ: AFRM) buy now, pay later loans for Apple Pay purchases later this year. The company said the installment loans via credit and debit cards will be available to U.S. users with Citigroup (NYSE: C), Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) and Fiserv (NYSE: FI) related issuers.
"The bottom-line -- in our view -- is that Affirm's strong brand and sophisticated underwriting technology have a moat that Apple likely could not replicate on its own," Mizuho Securities analyst Dan Dolev said in a research note, quoted by CNBC.
In the News:
General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced a new $6 billion stock buyback on Tuesday, adding to its $10 billion share repurchase program unveiled back in November that is expected to be completed by the end of June.
"We are very focused on the profitability of our [internal combustion engine] business, we're growing and improving the profitability of our EV business and deploying our capital efficiently. This allows us to continue returning cash to shareholders," CFO Paul Jacobson said in a release.
Separately, Jacobson said GM is cutting its sales and production outlooks for its all-electric vehicles this year during a Deutsche Bank investor event as U.S. consumer demand wanes. The company now expected production of 200,000 to 250,000 EVs in 2024, from from its previously announced range of 200,000 to 300,000.
For Wednesday:
Most investor attention will be focused on the Fed's June policy decision released Wednesday afternoon. Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is also set to deliver its quarterly results after market close on Tuesday.