Stocks opened lower on Wednesday following concerns of new trade restrictions to China, while traders awaited to hear Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 120 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 was down 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was declining 0.3%.

Big tech stocks were falling following a report that the White House is considering new restrictions on exports to China of chips for artificial intelligence. Nvidia (ticker: NVDA) stock dropped 3.1%, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was down 1.7% and Applied Materials (AMAT) fell 2.7%.

“*While the technology sector has been providing strong support to the market with AI boosting investors’ expectations, the US-China tensions could dampen this trend*,” Ralph Ratterman, asset manager at DHF Capital S.A., wrote Wednesday.

Jerome Powell is set to speak with central bankers from around the globe Wednesday. Traders will be listening to see if he shares any new updates on the future of monetary policy and inflation.

Source: [Barron's](https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-062823/card/stocks-open-lower-ahead-of-powell-remarks-OGcdmhxER5iftQceRwGE)

Following the downturn seen in morning trading on Friday, stocks showed a notable recovery attempt in the latter part of the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but still closed in the red.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 43.76 points or 0.4 percent to 12,284.74 and the S&P 500 dipped 6.54 points or 0.2 percent to 4,124.08, while the Dow edged down just 8.89 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 33,300.62,

While the Dow ended the day just below the unchanged line, the blue chip index still closed lower for the fifth consecutive session.

For the week, the Dow slumped by 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 fell by 0.3 percent, but the Nasdaq climbed by 0.4 percent.

The early downturn on Wall Street came following the release of a report from the University of Michigan showing U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorated by much more than anticipated in the month of May.

The report said the consumer sentiment index tumbled to 57.7 in May from 63.5 in April, while economists had expected the index to edge down to 63.0.

With the much bigger than expected decrease, the consumer sentiment index slumped to its lowest level since hitting 56.8 last November.

"*While current incoming macroeconomic data show no sign of recession, consumers' worries about the economy escalated in May alongside the proliferation of negative news about the economy, including the debt crisis standoff,*" said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.

She added, "*Throughout the current inflationary episode, consumers have shown resilience under strong labor markets, but their anticipation of a recession will lead them to pull back when signs of weakness emerge.*"

Hsu also said year-ahead inflation expectations receded slightly to 4.5 percent in May after spiking to 4.6 percent in April.

Meanwhile, long-run inflation expectations rose to 3.2 percent in May from 3.0 percent in April, reaching their highest reading since 2011.

Worries about the debt ceiling crisis also continued to hang over the markets, with the postponement of a meeting between President Joe Biden and top lawmakers adding to jitters about a potential default.

"*The discussion between the U.S. president and Congress around the debt ceiling issue could increasingly become a pain point for the stock market as the potential date for a default approaches*," said DHF Capital CEO Bas Kooijman. "*A U.S. default could have a tremendously negative impact on the global economy and on the financial system*."

"*In this regard, some banks have started putting in place contingency plans to face a potential default," he added. "As such, investors could be monitoring the developments around this issue every step of the way in the coming days*."

**Sector News**

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the relatively lackluster close by the broader markets.

Airline and banking stocks saw some weakness on the day, while natural gas stocks moved notably higher along with the price of the commodity.

**Other Markets**

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both climbed by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, increased 6.6 basis points to 3.463 percent.

**Looking Ahead**

Next week's trading may be impacted by reaction to the latest U.S. economic data, including reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and existing home sales.

Earnings news may also attract attention, with retail giants Walmart (WMT), Home Depot (HD) and Target (TGT) among the companies due to report their quarterly results next week.

Sources: https://www.rttnews.com/3363864/u-s-stocks-stage-late-day-recovery-attempt-but-close-modestly-lower.aspx

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U.S. Stocks Stage Late-Day Recovery Attempt But Close Modestly Lower

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The US stock market has been on an uptrend this month with sentiment improving gradually in particular as traders consider the possibility of a less stringent monetary policy. Until now, the rapid rise in interest rates has impacted confidence and fueled concerns about a slowing economy.

In this regard, traders could monitor the Federal Reserve’s interest rates decision tomorrow and Jerome Powell’s speech for guidance and hints over the next step in monetary policy.

The publication of declining US inflation figures today, mostly along estimates, supported the expectations of a pause in interest rate hikes tomorrow. However, traders could remain cautious to a certain extent ahead of the decision. The Federal Reserve is still expected to potentially raise interest rates in July.

Despite some remaining concerns, technology stocks were driving the market and could continue to push it to the upside. The sector has been seeing strong earnings with many companies beating estimates. Oracle reaffirmed this trend on Monday as investors could look forward to future positive results.

The market’s interest in AI has also brightened the outlook for many tech companies, from chip manufacturers to software developers and cloud-computing providers. Artificial Intelligence is expected to help boost revenues for many tech companies while also helping improve efficiency in many other industries that could benefit indirectly.

Overall, the stock market could react positively if the US central bank keeps interest rates on hold as expected, in particular, if the institution adopts a more dovish tone. As a result, vulnerable companies and sectors could also find some breathing room to cope with rising financing costs.

Bas Kooijman, CEO and Asset Manager of DHF Capital S.A. added:

The technology sector is increasingly becoming a bright spot in the US stock market while investors are considering the economic pressures high interest rates create. Tech companies’ performance could contrast with that of global stock markets which remain exposed to the weaker economic performance in Europe as well as the slower-than-expected recovery in China.

Source: [The Daily Brit](https://thedailybrit.co.uk/a-mix-of-caution-and-optimism-drives-us-stocks/)