U.S. stocks fall after Oracle disappointed; inflation data in view

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are falling early Tuesday after Oracle's outlook disappointed investors. Next up is August's inflation reading, a report due out Wednesday that could be a factor in the Federal Reserve's decision about interest rates later this month.

At 11:15 ET (15:15 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29 points or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.8%.

The three major Wall Street indices closed higher Monday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way, gaining 1.1%, as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) surged on optimism around artificial intelligence. The blue-chip Dow ended 0.3% higher and the broad-based S&P rose 0.7%.

Weak Oracle guidance weighs 

This positive tone has disappeared Tuesday, after Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) offered up disappointing current-quarter revenue guidance after the close Monday as a tough economy pressured cloud spending by businesses.

The computer software company forecast second-quarter revenue growth of between 5% and 7%, lower than analysts' average estimate of 8.2%, causing its stock to slump 11.7%.

After a surge in cloud demand during the pandemic, businesses are rethinking their digitization plans, hurting Oracle as it plays catch-up in a segment dominated by larger rivals. 

Apple’s “Wonderlust” eyed for iPhone news

Elsewhere, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will also be in the spotlight as the world’s most valuable company hosts its annual fall hardware update in California later in the session, dubbed “Wonderlust” this year.

The tech giant is widely expected to unveil its new iPhone 15, complete with new features and perhaps a slightly higher price on the Pro models than the previous model.

Despite a dip in iPhone revenues in Apple's most recent quarter, the smartphone remains massively important, making up about half of the firm's total sales.

U.S. inflation to drive sentiment

Tuesday’s economic data featured the NFIB small business optimism reading for August, which deteriorated slightly to 91.3 from July’s 91.9. This was the index's first fall in four months.

However, most attention this week will be on Wednesday’s release of the consumer price index for August, amid concerns that higher energy cost pressures could result in an upward surprise.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to pause raising interest rates this month, but policymakers have been keen of late to warn that it was still too early to declare victory over inflation.

Crude gains ahead of OPEC report

Oil prices rose Tuesday, maintaining the recent positive tone generated by Saudi Arabia and Russia extending their voluntary supply cuts to the end of the year.

Traders are keenly awaiting a monthly report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, due later in the day, especially for forecasts of Chinese demand, amid dwindling bets that the country will drive oil demand to record highs this year. 

Industry data on U.S. crude stocks from the American Petroleum Institute are due later in the session, and are expected to continue the recent run of draws.

(Peter Nurse and Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)