Tech Stocks Rise, Bank Stocks Fall Ahead of US Inflation Data Release... Cryptocurrency Strengthens

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The New York stock market closed slightly lower amid cautious trading ahead of the inflation data release scheduled for the next day.

On the 9th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.68 points (0.44%) to 34,447.14, the S&P 500 index dropped 7.71 points (0.18%) to 4,219.55, and the Nasdaq index declined 13.16 points (0.09%) to close at 13,911.75.

With the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to be announced the following day limiting volatility, some changes were detected in the market.

This was due to the US Treasury yield entering the 1.4% range for the first time in three months. Contrary to expectations that inflation concerns would spur interest rate hikes, bond investors supported a long-term rate freeze. A decline in Treasury yields means a rise in bond prices.

The market experts surveyed by Dow Jones expect the May CPI inflation rate to be 4.7%. The CPI rose 4.2% in April, marking the highest level since 2008. This significantly exceeds the Fed's inflation management target of an average 2%. As a result, major tech stocks such as Apple and Amazon rose, while financial stocks including JPMorgan Chase collectively showed weakness.

Meme stocks continued their volatile swings on the day. Clover Health, which surged the previous day, plunged 23%, while another meme stock, Clean Energy, rose 31% without any apparent reason. Wendy's stock also fell more than 12% on the day.

Bitcoin rose 8% compared to 24 hours earlier, climbing to the $36,000 range, buoyed by El Salvador passing a bill to become the world's first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.

Ethereum and Dogecoin also rose about 2%, trading around $2,500 and 34 cents, respectively.

Influenced by the cryptocurrency rally, Coinbase rose 1.8%. MicroStrategy, which decided to purchase additional Bitcoin by issuing junk bonds, surged 11%. Tesla closed slightly lower.

The July West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price closed down 9 cents (0.1%) from the previous session at $69.96 per barrel.