These declines follow a strong performance the previous day, when the S&P 500 and Dow closed at record highs, gaining 0.25% and 0.20%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.56% and remains less than 4% away from its own record high. All three major indices are on track for a positive month, despite ongoing concerns about a slowing economy, particularly after the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut.
Investors are increasingly focused on the economic landscape now that the central bank has begun lowering interest rates. Lauren Goodwin, chief market strategist at New York Life Investments, expressed cautious optimism on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
“I’m a buyer of this rally until unemployment claims start rising, until earnings start declining, really until growth’s a problem. And I think we’re going to see a really volatile market between those growth and slowdown narratives until that time,” Goodwin stated.
Key economic data set for release includes new home sales for August, scheduled for Wednesday morning, and weekly jobless claims on Thursday. In the premarket, shares of German tech company SAP fell 3% after CFO Dominik Asam confirmed an ongoing investigation by the US Justice Department regarding potential price-fixing.
Asam clarified during CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” that he is unaware of any criminal investigations related to SAP, but acknowledged a civil investigation from the DOJ.
“We have been fully cooperating with the DOJ up until now and we will continue to do so,” he stated.
CNBC, Reuters, and Financial Times contributed to this report.
