Stocks were choppy Tuesday as the main indexes struggled for direction following a lengthy stretch of wins. Sentiment could also be turning cautious ahead of Friday's Jackson Hole speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which has the potential to spark volatility across the equities market.
At the close, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% at 5,597 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.3% at 17,816, snapping their eight-day win streaks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, fell 0.2% to 40,834, its first loss in six days.
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve this week in the lead-up to the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which kicks off on Thursday. Powell's mid-morning speech Friday at the gathering is the key event on this week's economic calendar.
"We expect Powell to express a bit more confidence in the inflation outlook and to put a bit more emphasis on downside risks in the labor market than in his press conference after the July FOMC meeting, in light of the data released since then," say a team of Goldman Sachs economists led by Jan Hatzius.
Indeed, the July jobs report came in much weaker than expected, while the unemployment rate jumped to its highest level since October 2021.
Palo Alto Networks doubles stock buybacks
In single-stock news, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) rallied 7.2% after the cybersecurity firm beat top- and bottom-line expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter and issued a strong outlook for the first quarter and new fiscal year. The company also doubled the size of its stock buyback plan, bringing the total to $1 billion.
"Palo Alto is beginning to deliver on its platform vision and go-to-market strategy, showcased by the uptick in platform deals in the quarter," says Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron (Outperform, the equivalent of a Buy). "Looking ahead, we see room for upside as the strategy continues to gain traction and as macro conditions improve."
Lowe's drops after earnings, Alaska-Hawaiian merger clears major hurdle
Lowe's (LOW) was another post-earnings mover, falling 1.2% after the home improvement retailer's second-quarter revenue fell short of estimates. The company also cut its full-year outlook "based on lower-than-expected DIY sales and a pressured macroeconomic environment."
Outside of the earnings calendar, Alaska Air Group (ALK, 0.03%) made headlines after the air carrier's proposed $9.1 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Holdings (HA, +11.3%) cleared a major regulatory hurdle.
"The time period for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to complete its regulatory investigation of the proposed combination of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines under the HSR Act has expired," said Alaska in a statement. "This is a significant milestone in the process to join our airlines."
The deal still has to be approved by the Department of Transportation. According to CNBC, the agency released a statement Tuesday saying it "is reviewing the application and can only approve a transfer if it is in the public interest."
Bank of America drops after Buffett sells more shares
Bank of America (BAC) stock fell 2.5% after regulatory filings released Monday revealed Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B, -0.09%) sold 13.96 million shares between August 15 and August 19.
BAC was one of several stocks Buffett sold in Q2, though it was the holding company's 50% haircut in its Apple (AAPL, +0.3%) stake that drew the most attention. Still, the bank stock was the second-biggest position in the Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio as of June 30.
Gold prices hit new high
Elsewhere, gold hit a new high ahead of tomorrow's release of the minutes from the July Fed meeting. Gold futures settled at $2,550.60 per ounce, their 30th record-high close of the year.
Given the precious metal's recent surge – it is up more than 20% for the year to date – the price of a standard-weighted gold bar is now above $1 million for the first time ever. Consumers can buy smaller gold bars at retail outlets such as Costco Holdings (COST, +0.4%).
