The S&P 500 index fell slightly, losing 0.3%, last week as data showed US consumer prices rose modestly in July and the tech and materials sectors lost ground.
The index is now down 2.7% for the month of August so far but still solidly in positive territory for 2023 with a year-to-date gain of 16%.
The US seasonally adjusted consumer price index, a measure of inflation, rose by 0.2% in July, right on expectations from a survey compiled by Bloomberg, following a 0.2% increase in June. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also rose by 0.2%, as expected, after the same gain in June.
The report also showed the rate for core CPI slowed to 4.7% from 4.8%. While this is still well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, the slower rate boosted investors’ hopes for the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee to pause interest rate increases.
The technology sector had the largest percentage drop off the week, sliding 2.9%, followed by a 1% decline in materials, a nearly 1% fall in consumer discretionary and slip of less than 0.1% in financials. All other sectors were in positive territory for the week, led by a 3.5% rise in energy and a 2.5% boost in health care, but the decliners more than offset them.
This week, retailers including Home Depot, Target, Walmart and TJX will be releasing their latest quarterly results.
The economic calendar for this week features July US retail sales and import prices on Tuesday and July housing starts and industrial production on Wednesday.
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