U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as traders returned to Wall Street for a shortened post-Labor Day holiday week.
The benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by the same margin, around 230 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led losses, falling more than 1%. The moves come after three consecutive weeks of losses for the major averages.
“The market will enter the first full week of September intent on snapping a three-week losing streak as investors continued to digest the Fed’s ‘we won’t be distracted’ inflation-fighting message. “said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading at Morgan Stanley. E*TRADE said in a note Tuesday.
“Bulls hoping for a rebound will do so during a shortened Labor Day week that has historically paralleled September and its history of underperformance: Losses have been slightly less frequent over the past three decades, but the volatility has been higher.”
Treasuries rose as investors await the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision later this month. The benchmark 10-year note climbed to 3.269%, while the 2-year Treasury note rose to 3.449%.
Oil prices fell slightly after a temporary rally on the heels of OPEC+’s first supply cut in more than a year as the group struggles to manage global crude markets. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.5% to $86.44 a barrel while Brent futures fell 0.2% to $92.81.
In the cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) once again slipped below the $20,000 level.
Bed Bath & Beyond Shares (BBBY) plunged 18% in early trading Tuesday morning. Last week, the home goods retailer announced in a strategic update that it would be laying off staff and closing around 150 stores as part of an effort to turn around its struggling business.
Reports surfaced over the weekend that the company’s chief financial officer, Gustavo Arnal died by suicide Friday afternoon after falling from a skyscraper in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York known as the “Jenga” tower. Prior to his death, Arnal was named in a $1.2 billion shareholder lawsuit alleging his involvement in a “pump and dump” scheme.
“The company is in the early stages of assessing the complaint, but based on current knowledge, the company believes the claims are without merit,” a spokesperson for the company said. Bed Bath & Beyond tells Yahoo Finance.
Acquisition of the digital world (DWAC) shares plunged more than 17% after the special-purpose acquisition company set to merge with former President Donald Trump’s social media platform failed to garner enough shareholder support to extend the deadline for concluding the agreement.
Tuesday’s decisions come after the Department of Labor released its latest monthly jobs report for August on Friday. The US economy added 315,000 jobs last as the unemployment rate hit 3.7%, according to government data.
“The modest slowdown in job growth in August may be welcomed by the Fed, but it will not prevent further significant rate hikes in the months ahead,” Nancy Vanden Houten and Kathy Bostjancic said. Oxford Economics in a note Friday. “Fed Chair Powell made it clear last week that the FOMC plans to push rates well into restrictive territory to bring inflation down and prevent a stall in inflation expectations.”
Bank of America strategists led by Michael Hartnett warned Friday of a “fast inflation shock” and a “slow recession shock” as investors anticipate continued monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve.
—
Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
Click here for the latest stock market trends from the Yahoo Finance platform
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events moving stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Download the Yahoo Finance app to Apple Where android
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, instagram, Flipboard, LinkedInand Youtube