Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday, led by the Nasdaq, which fell 1.19% after expectations from chip maker Micron Technology pushed semiconductor and technology makers lower, while investors awaited US inflation data that could push the Federal Reserve to tighten its efforts to curb inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.16%, or 53.72 points, at 32,778.82 points.
According to preliminary data, the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended the trading session down 0.42% by 17.36 points at 4122.70 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.19% by 149.92 points to close at 12494.45 points.
Micron Technology shares fell 3.7% after the memory chip maker cut its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year and issued a cash flow warning in the next fourth as demand for chips used in PCs and smartphones waned.
If Wednesday’s inflation numbers come in, it will likely prevent the US central bank from slowing rate increases any time soon, and halt the stock market’s bullish run from its mid-June lows.
Traders see a 58.5% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise rates by 75 basis points at its September meeting, which would be the third big increase in a row.