U.S. stocks were down in Tuesday afternoon trading, following a day where mixed data drove continued volatility.
The Dow finished slightly down on Monday, marking the ninth consecutive trading session of alternating between gains and losses.
Today, comments from various Federal Reserve presidents and inflation concerns are the focus. San Francisco Fed President John Williams offered an opinion Monday that the central bank should wait “no more than a few months” before pursuing a hike in interest rates. Meanwhile, the consumer price index increased for the first time in months (+0.2%) for February; a considerable jump when compared to a -0.7% decrease in January.
Investors pushed stocks slightly higher based off stronger-than-expected new homes sales figures on Tuesday morning. But in the afternoon, stocks not only lost their gains but declined considerably. Some experts suggested this was the result of continued concerns over an impending interest rate hike.
Oil prices swung wildly around the world, as China’s factory sector saw a dip in activity to the lowest level seen in 11 months.
Here are the final numbers from Tuesday on Wall Street:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,011.14 (-104.90)
NASDAQ: 4,994.73 (-16.25)
S&P 500: 2,091.50 (-12.92)
