US stocks close mixed on concerns about rate hikes

WORLD CAPITALS, 23rd August, 2022 (WAM) — Wall Street’s main indexes closed lower on Tuesday on rate hike concerns, while the Nasdaq edged higher driven by cautious hopes the Federal Reserve would not significantly raise rates in the wake of weak U.S. business activity data.

Traders remain split between a 50-basis point and a 75-basis point rise by the central bank at its meeting next month, though economists polled by Reuters expect a 50-basis point hike.

Concomitantly, US Treasury yields extended their gains on Tuesday, a day after scaling past 3 percent for the first time since 21st July, weighing on megacap growth and technology stocks.

High-growth stocks and banks were mixed in choppy trading before the bell.

At 08:43 ET, Dow e-minis were down 14 points, or 0.04 percent, S&P 500 e-minis were down 1 point, or 0.02 percent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 2 points, or 0.02 percent.

Macy’s Inc rose 1.7 percent on beating quarterly profit estimates, while Palo Alto Networks Inc gained 9.8 percent after the cybersecurity firm posted upbeat quarterly results and announced a stock split plan.

US-listed shares of JD.com Inc climbed 2.1 percent on beating quarterly revenue expectations as pandemic-related lockdowns in China boosted online shopping.

In the meantime, European shares slipped today as investors complained about soaring energy prices and a weak economic outlook after data showed business activity in the region contracted this month. The pan-European STOXX 600 slipped 0.4 percent, dropping to its lowest in almost a month.

Asian equities followed suit, and were down for a sixth straight session on Tuesday after a renewed hike in European energy prices stoked fears of recession.