S&P 500 futures moved lower early Tuesday as the market comes off its first losing week in more than a month. Futures tied to the S&P 500 slid 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.4%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 110 points, or 0.33. The moves follow a losing week on Wall Street after economic data raised concerns that the Federal Reserve may not begin cutting interest rates as soon, or by as much, as market participants expected this year. Financial stocks were in view Tuesday following a blockbuster announcement in Capital One Financial is reportedly purchasing Discover Financial Services in an all-stock deal worth $35.3 billion, which is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025. Capital One slumped 3.5% in premarket trading following the announcement, while Discover jumped 16.3%. In separate deal news, Walmart announced it will acquire TV-maker Vizio for $2.3 billion, or $11.50 a share, leading shares of Vizio to climb above 15% and Walmart higher by 1.9%. Walmart also beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, fueled by double-digit growth in the company’s global e-commerce sales. Tuesday kicks off the shortened trading week after U.S. markets were closed Monday in observance of the birthday of George Washington. Investors will watch for leading economic indicators data due at 10 a.m. ET. All three of the major indexes snapped five-week winning streaks. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the way down with a drop of more than 1.3%, while the benchmark S&P 500 slipped about 0.4%. The blue-chip Dow saw the narrowest loss, shedding just around 0.1%. Wholesale prices rose more than anticipated in January, according to producer price index data released Friday. That bolstered concerns over sticky inflation that were raised earlier in the week after the consumer price index came in at 3.1% from a year ago, higher than economists forecasted and well above the 2% goal of the Fed. “The Fed will be concerned by the January CPI and PPI reports,” said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank. “Momentum has built up in inflation over the last few years, and persists in many corners of the economy… January’s inflation data will reinforce the Fed’s inclination to lower interest rates only gradually in 2024.” U.S. Treasury yields turned mostly lower Tuesday as uncertainty about the outlook for the economy and interest rates lingered. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was 5 basis points lower at 4.606%. The 10-year Treasury yield was last off nearly 2 basis points to 4.279%. Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed Tuesday as investors assessed decisions on key lending rates by China’s central bank. The CSI 300 closed 0.21% higher at 3,410.85 after the People’s Bank of China cut its five-year loan prime rate by 25 basis points to 3.95%, and kept one- and five-year LPR remains unchanged at 3.45%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.28% higher in its last hour of trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.28% lower to close at 38,363.61 but was still hovering near record highs, while South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.84% to end at 2,657.79. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed marginally lower at 7,659, as Star Entertainment fell more than 20% to a record low on report of a possible second inquiry into its Sydney casino. Oil prices were little changed in early Asian trading on Tuesday, hovering close to three-week highs on heightened Middle East tensions and recovering China demand. Brent futures ticked down 8 cents to $83.48 a barrel by 0133 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April delivery inched down 10 cents to $78.36 a barrel. The March WTI contract rose 26 cents to $79.45 a barrel as traders prepared for that contract to expire during the day. Gold prices held steady on Tuesday despite a stronger dollar and elevated Treasury yields, as investors awaited the minutes of the last U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting for more clues on its interest rate cut timing. Spot gold was flat at $2,018.03 per ounce, as of 0341 GMT. Most of the U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the President’s Day holiday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% at $2,029.10 per ounce.
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