S&P 500 Stumbles as Tech Struggles to Hold Gains

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- The S&P 500 fell Tuesday, after struggling to hold onto gains as investors remained wary of making big bets on stocks just as data pointing to a stronger consumer strengthened bets on the Federal Reserve sticking with its plan for further rate hikes.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, theDow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4%, or 111 points, and the Nasdaq was up 0.2%. All three-major averages fell deeper in bear-market territory.

Big tech was unable to hold onto the bulk of its gains as the dip-buying action ran out of stem and Treasury yields moved off session lows.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) eased from session highs to remain just above the flatline, while Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) turned negative.

Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), meanwhile, was flat after Elon Musk’s deposition by Twitter lawyers was rescheduled for Oct. 6-7.

The delay comes ahead of a trial, set for Oct. 17, that will decide the “ultimate fate of the $44 billion Twitter deal,” Wedbush said. “Twitter's stock will continue to trade on deal odds as the long and ugly courtroom battle now begins to play out in Delaware courts,” it added.

Data showing stronger consumer confidence reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve is likely to stay the course and lift its benchmark rate above 4% by the end of the year.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence gauge rose to 108.0 in October from 103.68 in September, beating economists’ forecast for a reading of 104.

Consumer sentiment is a leading indicator of consumer spending, which plays a major role in overall economic activity.

The pick-up in consumer confidence, which was driven by falling gas prices, Pantheon Macroeconomics said, “might not last as people absorb the hit from the recent drop in stock prices and the Fed’s latest rate hikes, with the promise of more to come.”

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard indicated on Tuesday that the Fed had more work to do, calling for further rate hikes that would need to stay at higher rate for “some time to make sure we’ve got the inflation problem under control.”

Energy stocks recovered from a rout a day earlier, supported by a more than 2% rise in oil prices rose on bets of supply disruptions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO), Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC), and Baker Hughes Co (NASDAQ:BKR) led the gains in energy.

Cruise line stocks including Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL), Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) were boosted by news that Canada would end Covid-19 travel restrictions next month.

Crypto-related stocks also reversed course as bitcoin failed to hold above $20,000. Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) and Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) were in the red. 

In other news, electric motorcycle maker LiveWire Group, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG), which went public through a special-purpose acquisition company, reversed gains on its debut to trade more than 1% lower.