By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com -- Tech stocks weighed on markets on Tuesday as bond yields climbed and investors turned to financials and energy. The Nasdaq was in the red most of the day, and remained there with a half-hour of trading left in the session.
Oil prices jumped after the U.S. joined with other nations to release crude from their strategic reserves, a move that is intended to lower gasoline prices for consumers, though it usually takes a few weeks for that transition.
The move is also one of the ways President Joe Biden is trying to get a hold of inflation after October consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 31, something that tends to anger voters.
An IHS Markit survey showed U.S. business activity slowed moderately in November, Reuters reported, with labor shortages and raw material delays. They are still in expansion territory on strength in the manufacturing sector.
Retailers continue to report issues with supplies going into the holiday season. Best Buy shares tumbled after it forecast slower fourth quarter comparable sales.
Wednesday brings a flood of data reports, to get ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, when U.S. stock markets are closed. Markets will be open again on Friday but will close early. And we get the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting in the early afternoon.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. The PCE index
The personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, is likely to have climbed 0.4% in October month-on-month. This follows September’s 0.2% rise. On a year-on-year basis, it’s likely to have moved higher by 4.1% following September’s 3.6% increase, according to analysts tracked by Investing.com. The data come out at 10:00 AM ET (1400 GMT).
2. Michigan consumer sentiment
The final reading of the U.S. consumer sentiment for November, as reflected in the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index, is seen negligibly improving to 66.9 from the preliminary forecast of 66.8. This reading comes out at 10:00 AM ET (1400 GMT).
3. Another GDP print
Gross domestic product, a sum of all the goods and services produced, is likely to have grown by 2.2% in the third quarter. The data comes out at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT).