US Stocks Plunge Amid Tech Struggles and Rising Oil Prices
The US stock market saw its second day of losses on August 11 as tech shares and rising oil prices took their toll. The Dow Jones fell over 430 points from its intraday high to close with a loss of 180 points.
Alphabet's recent underperformance, which has seen the stock fall by 4% for four out of the last five sessions, weighed on the indices. This decline is attributed to Google's announcement of changes to its AI labs division last week.
Nvidia also gave up early gains and traded below the flat line, while Apple shares fell following a downgrade from Jefferies. The tech sector's struggles were compounded by rising crude oil prices, which saw Brent crude remain near $90 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) above $83 a barrel.
Despite initial losses, oil prices regained their gains after Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif stated that the US and Iran are close to 'some sort of agreement' over peace and the Strait of Hormuz. However, these gains were short-lived as oil supply disruptions could last until the end of 2027, with a potential increase of 6,00,000 barrels per day.
The release of the July Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures is set to be the biggest market-moving trigger for Wednesday's session. Analysts predict a 0.1% rise in CPI on a month-on-month basis, while core CPI is expected to fall to its lowest level since 2021.