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Downward Thrust on Wall Street
Most American stocks took a slight dip on Wednesday as investors made profit off shares from Nvidia and other semiconductor manufacturers. Simultaneously, they readied themselves for a producer price report slated for Thursday and additional cues about inflation in the run-up to the Federal Reserve meeting next week.
Behavior of Semiconductor Shares
The semiconductor index experienced a mild downturn following a wave of substantial gains. To date, the index has seen an approximately 17% rise this year. Investors will be paying close attention to an upcoming GTC developer conference from March 18-21, awaiting any updates regarding artificial intelligence (AI).
Intel's share price took a hit with reports circling from Bloomberg that the Pentagon has withdrawn from a potential plan involving a chip grant potentially costing as much as $2.5 billion assigned to the firm.
Economic Data and Federal Reserve Decisions
The US producer price report scheduled for Thursday is likely to shed light on matters of inflation. Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina says, "The recent reading reinforced the growing inflation trend. This will be significant."
While it's predicted that the U.S central bank will maintain interest rates during their meeting, trading experts anticipate a 65% probability for the first rate cut to happen in June, as per the CME FedWatch Tool.
Thursday's agenda also includes the release of U.S retail sales data.
Performance of Major Indices
Preliminary information places the S&P 500 down by 9.66 points or 0.19%, ending at 5,165.33 points. Likewise, the Nasdaq Composite was down 85.18 points or 0.52%, reaching 16,180.46. On the other hand, the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew by 38.68 points or 0.11%, touching 39,046.98.
Surprisingly, data on consumer prices, hotter than previously expected on Tuesday, did not affect the anticipated rate cuts over the upcoming months.
Other Market Movers
Dollar Tree shares experienced a downward turn after the shop declared that almost 1,000 stores would be closing and reported a net loss in the preceding quarter caused by an impairment charge of over $1 billion.
Also in the red were McDonald's shares following the CFO stating that the fast-food kingpin's international sales might take a sequential dip in the ongoing quarter due stringent circumstances in the Middle East and reduced demand in China.
