The Dow Jones Industrial Average, on the other hand, fell 30.42 points, or 0.1%, to 34,599.82.

The US stock market has moved largely sideways in recent times as investors weighed concerns about inflation and supply chain issues against signs of the economy returning to normal. Investors found few catalysts to move stocks back and forth, causing major indices to falter. Tuesday marked the 12th day in a row without a 1% move in either direction for the S&P 500. The benchmark is almost flat, down just 0.1% from a month ago.

“The market is catching its breath and traders are ready to potentially wait for the next big thing,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial. “Overall, the market is clearly hanging on to it.”

Investors and analysts say they are focusing on Thursday’s report of the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index, which will provide insight into how prices for consumer goods and services have changed over the month. last and how it fits into larger conversations about inflation. Traders fear that continued signs of inflation may prompt the Federal Reserve to withdraw from accommodative monetary policies that have helped save markets and the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, many investors say they are bracing for times of turbulence, especially as trading volumes have recently hovered below their 2021 averages.

“The bond and equity markets will constantly check to see if this is transient or if it turns into a permanent rise in inflation,” said David Donabedian, chief investment officer at CIBC Private Wealth Management. “I would always put the odds of a higher S&P 500 at the end of the year at over 50%, but I think there will be more volatility than return in the second half of the year.”

Beneath the surface of the moderate market gains, however, there have been pockets of outperformance. In addition to a rebound in some tech and growth stocks on Tuesday, consumer discretionary stocks and energy companies rallied. Exxon Mobil and Diamondback Energy rose 1.8% and 2.8% respectively, supported in part by continued higher oil prices. Futures contracts on Brent, the benchmark in international energy markets, rose 1% to $ 72.22 per barrel.

Small-cap companies also advanced, with the Russell 2000 gaining 1.1% for the day. Since the start of the year, the small-cap equity index has risen 19%, surpassing the three major US indices.

Shares of memes stocks have also been particularly volatile lately, with individual investors continuing to invest in stocks. Shares of Clover Health Investments climbed $ 10.23, or 86%, to close at $ 22.15, a new all-time high after the healthcare company became the latest darling of individual investors on Reddit forums . Tuesday’s rally built on the company’s 32% gain on Monday.

Other so-called memes actions like GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond have also climbed. GameStop, which reports first-quarter results on Wednesday, jumped $ 19.99, or 7.1%, to close at $ 300. Bed Bath & Beyond added $ 2.85, or 8.4%, to end at $ 36.83.

AMC Entertainment Holdings,

which climbed recently, gained 5 cents, or 0.1%, to close at $ 55.05.

In bond markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bill fell to 1.527% from 1.570% on Monday, marking its lowest yield since March 11. Bond yields fall when prices rise. While concerns about a sharp and sustained rise in inflation have eased somewhat, portfolio managers continue to assess whether this could erode returns on fixed income assets.

“You are starting to see data that suggests that while high inflation may be transient, the time horizon implied by the word ‘transient’ is growing,” Donabedian said. “If inflation data is going to persist at a high level for the next six to nine months, then the Fed will need to clarify what it means by transient.”

Bitcoin prices also continued to fall. The cryptocurrency fell to $ 33,637.57, trading at around $ 33,187 at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, according to CoinDesk, a 2.4% drop from around 3.7% from its level. 5 p.m. ET Monday. One of the factors behind the drop was concern over tighter oversight and involvement of regulators in cryptocurrencies. The Justice Department said Monday it recovered around 64 bitcoins from hackers who targeted Colonial Pipeline, a major fuel pipeline, with a ransomware attack last month.

Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.1% to a new all-time high.

In Asia, stock indices for the most part fell slightly at market close. The Japanese Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was relatively unchanged from the previous day. The Shanghai Chinese Composite Index fell 0.5%.

Write to Will Horner at [email protected] and Caitlin McCabe at [email protected]

Corrections and amplifications
Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings closed Tuesday at $ 55.05, up 5 cents, or 0.1%. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the stock had fallen by these amounts. (Corrected June 8)