S&P 500 Stumbles on Worries Strong Data to Keep Fed Leaning Hawkish

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By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- The S&P 500 slipped Tuesday, under pressure from tech after better-than-expected data showing underlying strength in the labor market weighed on hopes for a less hawkish Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% or 41 points, and the Nasdaq was down 0.66%.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) led the weakness in the big tech as Treasury yields moved off session lows after the data showing better-than-expected manufacturing activity and job openings cooled bets somewhat on a slower pace of rate hikes

Job openings increased to 10.7 million, confounding expectations for a fall to 10 million. “Today's data suggest that hopes for a Fed pivot may have been premature,” Jefferies said a note.

The Federal Open Market Committee kicked off its two-day meeting, and is expected to raise rates by 0.75% on Wednesday.

Still, there are some who suggest that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will likely point to slowing growth as a factor that the Fed is monitoring, but the Fed chief will be wary of leaning too dovish to signal that a pivot is forthcoming.

“Powell will move off the Jackson Hole sounding rhetoric, and potentially say we're going to slow the path of rate increases, but we're going to keep rates at these levels for a while,” Chief Strategist at Spouting Rock Asset Management Rhys Williams told Investing.com’s Yasin Ebrahim in an interview on Tuesday. 

“I think he will probably also emphasize we're not going to have a V-shape turn in Fed policy,” Rhys added.

On the earnings front, meanwhile, Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) jumped more than 12% after its stronger fourth-quarter guidance overshadowed a wide than expected loss.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) also delivered better-than-expected guidance following third-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates despite a slump in Covid-19 vaccine sales in the quarter. Its shares were up more than 3%.

SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) surged more than 5% after delivering better-than-feared quarterly results and raising its full-year guidance despite the impact extensions of the student loan moratorium.

In other news, China-related tech stocks were in the ascendency on reports that China might be about to lift some of its Covid-related restrictions across the country.  

Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd ADR (NYSE:BABA), JD.com Inc Adr (NASDAQ:JD), and Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) were up more than 3%.