Stocks closed lower, kicking off a pivotal week for macro data releases starting with inflation figures out on Tuesday.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, Dow was down 200 points, or 0.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 needed to rise by less than 0.1% to mark its first record for August.
Investors simply strayed away from making big bets ahead of the inflation data for July, which comes out tomorrow morning. June’s data showed tariff-related hikes were slowly creeping into prices for consumer products. Furniture, sports equipment, appliances, clothing, and toys in June all saw notable increases.
Chief U.S. Economist Stephen Stanley from Santander sees household furnishings and apparel posting sizable advances due to tariff-related price increases in July, but the bigger advances may be visible in categories such as used vehicle prices and airfares.
The holding pattern was also visible in the Treasury market, where the 10-year and 30-year both fell by a small amount. Bond investors will be paying attention to inflaiton and the monthly Treasury statement tomorrow, which will evidence the amount the federal government is receiving through tariffs and the year-to-date deficits, a key sticking point for investors hesitant to buy into the longer-term securities.
“Monday’s session was effectively a placeholder,” wrote rate strategists at BMO Capital Markets, Ian Lyngen and Vail Hartman. Volumes were “running at less than half the norm and rates oscillating in a narrow range ahead of Tuesday’s CPI release.”
Other key releases for the week include jobless claims on Thursday and retail sales data as well as University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment survey on Friday.
