Stock Market Today: Dow Hits New Record Closing High

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Stocks finished Monday on a mixed note, though one of the three main indexes managed to notch a new record closing high. Following Friday's dovish speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, all eyes now shift to a key inflation update and Nvidia (NVDA) earnings, both due later this week.

Indeed, the July Personal Consumption and Expenditures (PCE) Price Index will be released ahead of Friday's open. The index measures consumer spending and is the Fed's favorite inflation gauge.

Consumer prices, as measured by the PCE, "likely rose modestly in July from June, with inflation holding steady or edging up a hair in year-over-year terms," says Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. However, the economist adds that wage growth probably slowed month-to-month after the July jobs report came in weaker than expected.

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Today, an update on durable goods was the main event on the economic calendar. Data from the Census Bureau showed new orders for durable goods surged 9.9% in July vs the month prior. Excluding transportation, new orders were up 0.2%. They were 10.4% higher when excluding defense orders.

"A sharp recovery in jet purchasing fueled substantial progress in durable goods activity in July," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. "Driving the recuperation were transactions for passenger airplanes, which turned positive following June's unfortunate cancellations. Defense aircraft and computers also supported the manufacturing sector."

PDD logs worst day ever after earnings

In single-stock news, U.S.-listed shares of PDD Holdings (PDD) spiraled 28.5% after the Temu parent reported earnings – their worst day ever. While the Chinese online retailer beat on the bottom line, its top-line results fell short of estimates.

Management pointed to "new challenges in changing consumer demand, intensifying competition and uncertainties in [the] global environment," which it believes will continue to impact near-term financial results too.

XPeng pops on insider buying

Fellow Chinese stock XPeng (XPEV) jumped 7.1% today on news the electric vehicle (EV) maker's CEO bought more than 2 million shares. Xiaopeng He is a top stakeholder in XPEV, now owning roughly 18.8% of the company.

In a note released earlier today, CFRA Research analyst Aaron Ho maintained a Hold rating on XPEV. While the analyst expects revenue momentum to continue, there are worries about rising competition in the EV space which could create difficulties for small players like XPeng to expand.

Nvidia stock falls ahead of earnings

In single-stock news, Nvidia fell 2.3% ahead of the chipmaker's second-quarter earning report, set for release after Wednesday's close.

"The company's results and guidance have an outsized influence as it has its finger on the pulse of AI spending," says Louis Navellier, chairman and founder of Navellier & Associates. "In the past NVIDIA has said it can't meet demand, how that narrative changes will be pivotal, as will the timing of their new Blackwell chip."

Nvidia was hardly the only chip stock closing in the red. Weakness was seen across the board, with Broadcom (AVGO, -4.1%), Arm Holdings (ARM, -5.0%) and Marvell Technology (MRVL, -4.2%) among the notable decliners.

The slump in semiconductor stocks weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which fell 0.9% to 17,725. The S&P 500 (-0.3% at 5,616) also finished lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 41,240, a new record closing high.

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With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.