Financial Markets                      12/10 16:24

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes drifted lower Tuesday in the runup to 
the highlight of the week for the market, the latest update on inflation that's 
coming on Wednesday.

   The S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, a day after pulling back from its latest all-time 
high. They're the first back-to-back losses for the index in nearly a month, as 
momentum slows following a big rally that has it on track for one of its best 
years of the millennium.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 
composite slipped 0.3%.

   Tech titan Oracle dragged on the market and sank 6.7% after reporting growth 
for the latest quarter that fell just short of analysts' expectations. It was 
one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500, even though CEO Safra Catz said the 
company saw record demand related to artificial-intelligence technology for its 
cloud infrastructure business, which trains generative AI models.

   AI has been a big source of growth that's helped many companies' stock 
prices skyrocket. Oracle's stock had already leaped more than 80% for the year 
coming into Tuesday, which raised the bar of expectations for its profit report.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher ahead of Wednesday's 
report on the inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling. Economists expect it 
to show similar increases as the month before.

   Wednesday's update and a report on Thursday about inflation at the wholesale 
level will be the final big pieces of data the Federal Reserve will get before 
its meeting next week, where many investors expect the year's third cut to 
interest rates.

   The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since 
September to take pressure off the slowing jobs market, after bringing 
inflation nearly down to its 2% target. Lower rates would help give support to 
the economy, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation.

   Expectations for a series of cuts through next year have been a big reason 
the S&P 500 has set so many records this year.

   Trading in the options market suggests traders aren't expecting a very big 
move for U.S. stocks following Wednesday's report, according to strategists at 
Barclays. But a reading far off expectations in either direction could quickly 
change that.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.22% from 4.20% late Monday.

   Even though the Fed has been cutting its main interest rate, mortgage rates 
have been more stubborn to stay high and have been volatile since the autumn. 
That has hampered the housing industry, and homebuilder Toll Brothers' stock 
fell 6.9% even though it delivered profit and revenue for the latest quarter 
that topped analysts' expectations.

   CEO Douglas Yearley Jr. said the luxury builder has been seeing strong 
demand since the start of its fiscal year six weeks ago, an encouraging signal 
as it approaches the beginning of the spring selling season in mid-January.

   Elsewhere on Wall Street, Alaska Air Group soared 13.2% after raising its 
forecast for profit in the current quarter. The airline said demand for flying 
around the holidays has been stronger than expected. It also approved a plan to 
buy back up to $1 billion of its stock, along with new service from Seattle to 
Tokyo and Seoul.

   Boeing climbed 4.5% after saying it's resuming production of its bestselling 
plane, the 737 Max, for the first time since 33,000 workers began a seven-week 
strike that ended in early November.

   Vail Resorts rose 2.5% after the ski resort operator reported a smaller 
first-quarter loss than analysts expected in what is traditionally its worst 
quarter.

   All told, the S&P 500 fell 17.94 points to 6,034.91. The Dow dipped 154.10 
to 44,247.83, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 49.45 to 19,687.24.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in China after the world's 
second-largest economy said its exports rose by less than expected in November. 
Stocks rose 0.6% in Shanghai but fell 0.5% in Hong Kong.

   Indexes fell across much of Europe ahead of a meeting this week by the 
European Central Bank, where the widespread expectation is for another cut in 
interest rates.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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