Investing.com — US stocks were mixed at the start of trading on Wall Street on Tuesday, as investors eyed an upcoming inflation report and potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
By 09:41 ET (13:41 GMT), the benchmark had gained 17 points or 0.3%, the tech-heavy had risen by 48 points or 0.3%, and the 30-stock had dipped by 25 points or 0.1%.
The main averages rose on Monday, with traders hunting for bargains after a sell-off in the previous week fueled in part by a weaker-than-anticipated August jobs report and sluggish manufacturing data.
Markets are attempting to gauge the outlook for Fed monetary policy in the wake of the figures, with a cut to borrowing costs at the central bank’s meeting on Sept. 17-18 now all but guaranteed. However, it remains uncertain if policymakers will roll out a 25-basis point or 50-basis point reduction. More clarity could come on Wednesday, when the latest US consumer price index — a key measure of inflation — is set to be released.
Apple shares lower after EU top court ruling, iPhone 16 reveal
Shares in Apple (NASDAQ:) inched lower after the European Union’s top court ruled against the company as part of a years-long legal battle regarding its taxes in Ireland.
The European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that Apple must repay 13 billion euros in back taxes, overturning an earlier decision that had found in favor of the company.
The EU’s top court said that two entities overseen by Apple — Apple Sales International (ASI) and Apple Operations Europe (AOE) — had unlawfully received state aid from Ireland in the form of tax advantages from 1991 to 2014.
Elsewhere, the Cupertino-based group announced a slew of enhancements to its iPhone 16 on Monday, including improvements to its Siri voice assistant and a range of smart camera customizations aimed at professional video editing that are due to rolled out over time. Apple is banking on the iPhone 16, which is due to go on sale on Sept. 20 with pre-orders available this Friday, to help reinvigorate flagging sales of the device.
Analysts said the new iPhones and AI features largely met expectations set by Apple’s earlier reveal of its plans for a push into AI, called “Apple Intelligence.”
Oracle shares jump
Shares in Oracle (NYSE:) rose sharply before the opening bell after the group reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results, driven by strong demand for its cloud business.
The Texas-based cloud services company also said it signed a strategic partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ:) Web Services that will allow customers to access Oracle Autonomous Database and Oracle Exadata Database Service within AWS.
The announcement comes after Oracle previously said it had struck new partnerships with Microsoft-backed ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Google (NASDAQ:) Cloud in a bid to extend the reach of its artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Speaking in a post-earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Safra Catz said Oracle’s database is “thriving,” adding that the cloud agreements it has reached “with Microsoft (NASDAQ:), Google, and AWS make it easier for our customers to run their Oracle databases in the cloud.”
Oracle posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.39 on revenue of $13.3 billion in the three months ended on Aug. 31. Analysts polled by Investing.com had anticipated EPS of $1.33 on revenue of $13.23 billion.
Oil slips
Oil prices inched lower in European trade on Tuesday as concerns over weak domestic demand in China outweighed the possible impact of Tropical Storm Francine on US oil production.
expiring in November were down 0.6% at $71.38 a barrel, while crude futures had dipped by 0.7% to $68.25 per barrel by 09:45 ET. Both benchmarks settled higher on Monday.
A slew of oil companies, including Exxon Mobil (NYSE:), Shell (LON:) and Chevron (NYSE:), are moving to halt production and refining activities in the Gulf of Mexico due to Tropical Storm Francine. The storm is expected to strengthen in the coming days, according to the National Hurricane Center.
But sentiment has been dented by a string of weak economic readings from China, which have drummed up fears over tepid growth in the world’s top oil importer.
Traders were also assessing a reduction to OPEC’s 2024 oil demand outlook. The producer said it now expects demand to increase by roughly 2 million barrels per day this year, down from its prior projection of 2.1 million in August. It was the second consecutive month that the producer group has made a downward adjustment to the forecast.
