Indexes Mixed After Worst Session Since June

• US stocks were mixed at the open Tuesday, after suffering their worst losses in two months a day earlier. 
• US strategic oil reserves are running at record lows as President Joe Biden has released crude to offset soaring domestic prices over the summer.
• Investors are awaiting Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech on Friday.

US stocks opened narrowly mixed on Tuesday following their worst losses in two months a day earlier. 

The Dow sank more than 600 points on Monday, as traders fled stocks in response to concerns the Federal Reserve would maintain its aggressive pace of rate hikes.

Wall Street had seemingly been betting on optimism that a better-than-expected inflation report in July would give the central bank ample reason to pause its tightening cycle. Now, investors are keeping a close eye on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the central bank’s yearly conference in Wyoming on Friday. 

Here’s where US indexes stood as the market opened at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday: 

Famed economist Mohamed El-Erian thinks Powell has an opportunity to give investors and markets clarity ahead of his Friday notes. El-Erian told CNBC that “forward guidance has really been discredited under this Fed.”

Meanwhile, investors should keep a close eye on energy markets as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to send natural gas prices higher, according to RBC’s head of global commodity strategy Helima Croft. She added that Russia is set on “going for a mutually assured destruction strategy with Europe.”

Elsewhere, US strategic oil reserves are running at record lows as President Joe Biden has been liberal in the release of crude to offset soaring domestic prices over the summer. Reserves have been depleted by over 160 million barrels in 2022 alone. 

Crude oil climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.03% to $91.28 a barrel, and international benchmark Brent crude added 0.89% at $97.33.

Gold fell 0.08% to $1,734.26 an ounce. The 10-year yield rose 2.4 basis-points to 3.059%. 

Bitcoin gained 0.16% to $21,426.32.