[Wall Street Close | October 13] U.S. Stocks Edge Lower as Banks and Chip Equipment Slip Ahead of CPI

Dow fell 0.35%, Nasdaq fell 0.15%... After the announcement of major banks' earnings, all of them weakened, while Nvidia, Meta, and Oracle rose... U.S. consumer prices announced today at 9:30 p.m.

The three major New York stock market indices fell slightly on the 13th (local time). As major banks announced their quarterly results, financial stocks were weak, and memory and semiconductor equipment stocks were also put up for sale. However, the decline in the index was limited as some large technology stocks rose. On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended trading at 51,670.10, down 180.45 points (0.35%) from the previous day. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 7,805.45, down 1.79 points (0.02%), and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 27,204.38, down 41.52 points (0.15%). The stock prices of major banks that disclosed their performance all fell. JP Morgan Chase fell 0.86% and Wells Fargo fell 3.10%, while Citigroup and Goldman Sachs also fell 5.60% and 0.23%, respectively. The performance details of each bank were different. JP Morgan's earnings per share were $5.57, falling short of market expectations. Wells Fargo's profits exceeded expectations, but its net interest income and sales fell short of expectations. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs' stock prices fell even after announcing profits that exceeded market expectations. In semiconductor stocks, the weakness of memory and equipment companies was noticeable. Micron fell 3.63%. As Chinese memory company CXMT announced that it had made progress in developing the next-generation DRAM structure, concerns were highlighted that competition with existing companies could intensify. However, the commercialization feasibility and actual competitiveness of the new technology require further confirmation. Applied Materials fell 6.69%. The company presented long-term growth goals at an investor event, but did not provide an outlook for the semiconductor equipment investment (WFE) market. Lam Research and KLA also fell 2.73% and 3.22%, respectively. At an event in Singapore the previous day, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan warned against excessive expectations, comparing the behavior of some artificial intelligence (AI) investors to gambling. These remarks were also mentioned as a factor that put pressure on semiconductor investment sentiment. However, not all semiconductor stocks fell. Nvidia rose 0.97% and AMD rose 1.90%, while Broadcom and Intel also rose 0.73% and 1.44%, respectively. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed at 12,208.80, down 27.99 points (0.23%) from the previous day. The direction of each large technology-led stock was different. Oracle rose 4.23% and Meta rose 2.63%, while Microsoft and Alphabet rose 0.42% and 0.30%, respectively. Apple rose 0.09%, while Amazon and Tesla fell 0.37% and 0.74%, respectively. The decline of Johnson & Johnson and Caterpillar was a burden on the Dow. Johnson & Johnson raised its annual earnings outlook, but its stock price fell 5.73%. The company's third quarter results reflected one-time costs related to the talc lawsuit settlement. Caterpillar also fell 3.33%. In energy stocks, ExxonMobil rose 1.12% and Chevron rose 1.27%. International oil prices showed mixed trends. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery ended trading at $94.14 per barrel, up $0.40 from the previous trading session, and Brent crude oil for December delivery ended at $105.69, down $0.96 from the previous trading session. In the U.S. Treasury market, which resumed trading after the Columbus Day holiday on the 12th, interest rates varied by maturity. At the close of the New York Stock Exchange, the US 10-year Treasury bond interest rate recorded 5.216%, 0.027 percentage points lower than on the 9th, the previous trading day. The 2-year interest rate, which is sensitive to monetary policy, was at 4.791%, up 0.002 percentage points from the 9th. The market's next interest is the US September Consumer Price Index (CPI), which will be announced today (14th) at 9:30 PM (Korean time). The expert forecast compiled by the Wall Street Journal is a 3.6% increase compared to the same month last year, which is higher than the 3.4% in August. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, was expected to rise by 2.5% compared to the same month last year. The key to this price index is how much the increase in energy prices has spread to the prices of other goods and services. The rate of inflation and changes in detailed items, along with corporate performance, are expected to be key judgment data for assessing the future interest rate path of the Federal Reserve System.