S&P 500 Holds, Nasdaq Still Pinned Down, the Morning After the Inflation Shock
At 11:10 ET the S&P 500 sits at 7,728.69, up 0.13%, while the Nasdaq is at 26,620.00, down 0.27%. Against the last brief (22:40), the S&P 500 is better by 0.42 points and the Nasdaq by 0.61 points. The overnight bruise has lifted, yet the Nasdaq is still stuck in the red. That's today's picture.
The inflation shock passed, the lean remains
The center of gravity has clearly shifted. September producer prices rose 1.3% month over month, the highest in four and a half years, and that stoked worries about further rate hikes and rattled the Nasdaq. With that shock behind us, healthcare and consumer staples are firm while AI and semiconductors lag. Money hides in defensives while growth gets pressed, which is why the Nasdaq trails the S&P 500 on the way back up.
Currency doesn't look relaxed either. The won is at 1,340.31 per dollar, up 0.46%, and the dollar index is at 102.55, up 0.36%. A rising dollar rarely lets risk assets breathe easy, and I keep an eye on that.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,728.69 (+0.13%) |
| Nasdaq | 26,620.00 (-0.27%) |
| USD/KRW | 1,340.31 (+0.46%) |
| Dollar index | 102.55 (+0.36%) |
Korea took the hit first
Korea's session, already closed, showed this first. On the 10/15 close the KOSPI fell 7.57% and the KOSDAQ 7.65%, as AI-bubble fears and the US inflation jolt landed together. Today's US session didn't inherit that fall as a further slide. The S&P 500 holding positive actually cut against it. But with the Nasdaq still at -0.27%, it's too early to say it has shaken everything off.
My public holdings read Orion -11.6%, KB Financial -9.7%, Hyundai Rotem -19.3% and Celltrion -1.8% on mark-to-market. They're still pressed down while I watch this session.
What to watch in the last 4 hours 50 minutes
With 4 hours 50 minutes to the close, I'm watching two things. One is whether the Nasdaq erases its minus and moves in step with the S&P 500. The other is whether the semiconductor weakness deepens. After the price data, the market's eyes turned to the Fed's rate path, and I'll also be checking whether that story shakes the dollar and the won again.