PARIS, Aug 9 (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange fell in early trading on Tuesday on disappointing forecasts from Micron Technology and investor caution on the eve of monthly US inflation figures.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index lost 29.44 points, or 0.09%, to 32,803.1 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.24% to 4,130.09 points.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.81%, or 102.694 points, to 12,541.765.
Investors await with some feverishness the consumer price statistics which will be published one hour before the opening on Wednesday.
A higher-than-expected inflation rate, after the good employment figures published on Friday, could probably encourage the Federal Reserve to continue its monetary tightening with sharp rate hikes.
Traders estimate a 71.5% chance that the Fed will raise rates by 75 basis points in September.
The S&P energy index posted the strongest growth (+2.5%) thanks to the rise in oil prices fueled by fears over Europe’s supply from Russia.
Exxon Mobil and Chevron gain more than 2%.
On the downside, Micron Technology fell 3.06% as the memory chipmaker issued a quarterly revenue warning and said its free cash flow is expected to be negative in the next quarter as demand continues to fall.
Its competitors Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices lost 2.81% and 2.64% respectively, deepening their losses recorded the day before following a similar warning from Nvidia.