11/07/24 Briefing

US stocks rolled over on Thursday as investors rotated out of tech after a key inflation report showed consumer prices unexpectedly fell on a month-over-month basis for the first time since 2020.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 0.9% to fall back below 5,600 after crossing the level for the first time on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose nearly 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the way down, sinking almost 2%.

Big Tech sold off hard with heavyweights like Nvidia (NVDA) down more than 5%, while the entire "Magnificent 7" group of stocks had its worst day in nearly a year. Tesla (TSLA) shares snapped an 11-day winning streak to drop more than 8% in its worst day since January after a Bloomberg report that the EV maker will delay the unveiling of its robotaxi.

Investors flocked to rate sensitive sectors like Real Estate (XLRE) and Utilities (XLU) following June's cooler than expectedinflation print.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) last month declined 0.1% over the previous month and increased just 3.0% over the prior year. The annual gain was the slowest rise in consumer prices since early 2021.

Stock gains had picked up pace this week as Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested that conditions are almost right for the Federal Reserve to start making interest-rate cuts. Thursday's inflation look bolstered bets on a cut by September, with around 90% of traders expecting such an outcome, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Another earnings season kicks off on Friday when JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C) all report their second quarter results.