Nasdaq drops more than 2% in worst day since February as Fitch downgrade ignites selloff: Live updates

Stocks hit selloff mode Wednesday, and the Nasdaq Composite registered its worst day since February{

Nasdaq Composite poised to see worst day since February

The Nasdaq Composite is on pace to end down around 2.2%, which would be the worst daily performance since February.

The technology-heavy index last closed with a bigger loss on Feb. 21, which it finished about 2.5% lower.

But if the Nasdaq takes another leg down and ends the session worse than 2.5% below flat, it would be the worst session of the year. The next marker to watch was met on Dec. 15, when the index dropped 3.3%.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

The tech-heavy index shed 2.17% to end at 13,973.45, while the S&P 500 pulled back 1.38% to close at 4,513.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 348.16 points, or 0.98%, to finish at 35,282.52.

Fitch Ratings cut the long-term foreign currency issuer default rating for the U.S. to AA+ from AAA Tuesday night, citing "expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years."

The last time the U.S. got a downgrade from a major ratings agency was in 2011 when Standard & Poor's cut the rating to AA+ from AAA.

"Investors may use this Fitch downgrade as a reason to take some profits, but we think that was probably a natural part of the market cycle anyway, after such a strong run, very little volatility," said Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. "Broadly speaking, this hasn't deterred our fundamental view of the economy or markets."

The economic picture continues showing signs of resilience, and conditions look very different compared to the last time U.S. credit got a rating downgrade, she added.

Wednesday's selloff bucked the recent months-long uptrend fueled by growth stocks. Technology stocks led the declines as the 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since November. Chinese tech names{

Chinese tech stocks fall after regulators float child smartphone rules

Shares of Chinese technology stocks were under pressure on Wednesday after regulators in China proposed limits on the use of smartphones for minors.

The proposed rules call for a "minor mode" for smartphones that limits both time use and content that can be accessed, depending on how old a child is.

Shares of JD.com, Baidu and Alibaba all fell more than 2% in morning trading. Shares of Tencent Music and the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) fell more than 3%.

— Jesse Pound

JD.com Baidu limits on smartphone Alibaba Amazon Alphabet Microsoft Nvidia

Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, called Wednesday's move out of technology stocks and into defensive sector a long overdue "constructive rotation" after the tech-fueled rally.

"There is money still being put to work," he said. "There's no rush to the exits right now. It's just a headline that's given us fuel to finally move some chips around a little bit without upsetting the general overall trends, which have been up since the beginning of the year when it comes to tech."

Meanwhile, Wall Street scrutinized a fresh batch of earnings results. CVS Health rose 3.3% after posting strong earnings{

CVS Health tops earnings expectations

CVS Health shares moved nearly 2% higher in the premarket after reporting second-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations on both the top and bottom lines as it trims costs and slashes jobs amid its push into healthcare.

The healthcare giant posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.21, versus the $2.11 expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenues came in at $88.9 billion, ahead of the $86.5 billion expected.

The company also kept its full-year adjusted guidance calling for earnings between $8.50 and $8.70 per share.

— Samantha Subin, Spencer Kimball

Humana lower-than-expected Advanced Micro Devices disappointing forecast SolarEdge Technologies

SolarEdge plunges on mixed results, weak outlook

SolarEdge Technologies shed more than 12% before the bell after reporting mixed quarterly results and sharing a third-quarter revenue outlook that fell short of expectations.

The solar company reported earnings of $2.62 a share, excluding items. That came in ahead of the $2.52 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. SolarEdge reported revenues of $991 million, slightly below the $992 million expected.

Along with the mixed results, SolarEdge issued weaker-than-expected revenue guidance for the third quarter. The company said it expects revenues to range between $880 million and $920 million. Wall Street analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected revenues of $1.05 billion.

— Samantha Subin

Earnings season is more than halfway through and continue to come in stronger than expected. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported, about 82% have posted positive surprises, according to FactSet data.

— CNBC's Darla Mercado contributed to this report.

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Stocks finish lower, Nasdaq logs worst day since February

Stocks hit selloff mode Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite notching its worst day since February.

The Nasdaq Composite index shed 2.17% to end at 13,973.45, while the S&P 500 pulled back 1.38% to close at 4,513.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 348.16 points, or about 0.98%, to finish at 35,282.52.

— Samantha Subin

A peek under the hood shows a broad-based selloff in S&P 500

The selloff in the S&P 500 Wednesday was broad based, with 413 stocks declining in the broader index. There were 87 advancers in the benchmark.

The biggest loser was backup power generator company Generac, which was last down by more than 23%. Paycom Software and SolarEdge Technologies dropped more than 18%.

The best-performing stock was Waters Corporation. That name was up by more than 7% in afternoon trading.

— Sarah Min

Semis and cloud stocks partially rebound from session lows

Semiconductors and cloud stocks managed to rise from their session lows Wednesday. Shares briefly reached their lowest levels in 2023 before partially recouping losses.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is down 3.8%, putting it on pace for back-to-back losses. If it closes down more than 3.54% for the day, Wednesday would mark its worst day since July 20. All components of the chips ETF are lower on the day.

Nonetheless, the chips fund is still up more than 52% year to date.

The First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY) is down 4% for the day, on pace to break a three-day win streak. If losses increase beyond 3.99%, the cloud ETF would have its worst day since Feb. 3.

Paycom is the second-worst performer in the S&P 500 and the worst in SKYY Wednesday, on pace to break a seven-day win streak with its worst day on record, back to its IPO in April 2014.

— Hakyung Kim

CNBC Pro: Wall Street pros shrug off the impact of Fitch’s downgrade on markets

The Fitch downgrade of U.S.′ long-term rating Tuesday night mostly amounts to "noise" as far as the market is concerned — though it could help it digest its recent gains. 

Fitch Ratings cut its long-term foreign currency issuer default rating for the U.S. to AA+ from AAA, saying it expects "fiscal deterioration over the next three years." The downgrade was immediately criticized by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others in Washington, who said the rating is based on outdated information. 

However, Wall Street strategists mostly took the downgrade in stride. The S&P 500′s 17% rally this year, and the Nasdaq Composite's 33% advance, had some traders worrying that equities have surged "too far, too fast." 

"I think that it's just a short term glitch that will end up representing a good buying opportunity through the end of the year," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. Stovall's S&P 500 year-end target is at 4,575. 

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Sarah Min

Baird says this little-known industrial stock can rally 35%

Industrial manufacturer Oshkosh Corporation is showing significant growth potential, according to Baird. 

Analyst Mircea Dobre upgraded shares to outperform from neutral and raised his price target to $137 from $89, suggesting a 35% upside from where the stock closed Tuesday.

Dobre highlighted Oshkosh's second-quarter results as a sign of operational improvement for the company after it dealt with supply chain issues and price-cost mismatches over the past 18 months.

The stock has advanced 15.2% year to date and gained more than 1% on Wednesday. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Pia Singh

Fitch rating downgrade 'doesn't really matter,' says JPMorgan's Dimon

Jamie Dimon isn't too bothered by Fitch's downgrade of the United States' long-term credit rating.

"It doesn't really matter that much" because it is the market, and not rating agencies, that determine borrowing costs, the JPMorgan Chase CEO told CNBC's Leslie Picker on Wednesday. "They point out some issues which we all knew about."

Dimon called it "ridiculous" that other countries have higher rating than the U.S.

— Hugh Son, Samantha Subin

Intel leads Dow downward

Intel led the Dow down in Wednesday's session.

The semiconductor stock dropped 3.4%, making it the worst performer of the 30 stocks in the Dow. As a whole, the index is down 0.8%, with more than two-thirds of members trading below flat.

Disney, Boeing and Microsoft followed Intel, with each losing more than 2%.

On the other hand, Walgreens was able to buck the trend and was up more than 3% in the session.

— Alex Harring

UBS calls for a 'selective approach' to stock picking

UBS is continuing to recommend a more risk-averse approach to stock picking, especially after July's blowout rally.

"So, while the macroeconomic and policy outlook brightened over the course of the month, we continue to recommend a selective approach to equities, focusing on parts of the market that have so far lagged the 2023 rally," said UBS Global Wealth Management's Mark Haefele in a Wednesday note.

According to the chief investment officer, much of the good news has already been priced into equities, limiting the upside from here.

Given this setup, the firm is favoring fixed income as yields hover at attractive levels.

— Samantha Subin

Tinder recovery to drive Match Group share growth, says BTIG

Match Group shares are set to pop as Tinder recovers, according to BTIG.

The company posted an earnings and revenue beat for the second quarter Tuesday. Management's current-quarter guidance also came above analyst estimates. BTIG noted that Tinder is showing an improving trend in its daily new users numbers and reactivation trend. 

"Tinder hit a wall last year," with growth slowing into 2023, analyst Jake Fuller said. But he noted that net add outlook is now improving, with accelerating growth and upward-moving estimates. Fuller upgraded Match Group to buy from neutral. 

Shares rose slightly in afternoon trading.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the upgrade here.

— Hakyung Kim

AMD could be nearing the end of its rally, according to several Wall Street analysts

The semiconductor manufacturer's shares have surged 70% year to date amid the AI boom. However, despite the company's second-quarter earnings announcement on Monday topping analyst estimates, the global PC market slump has dampened the company's sales forecasts. 

Following the earnings report, Bank of America reiterated its neutral rating on the stock while lifting its price target by just $2 to $132. The new price target implies 12.2% upside from where shares closed Tuesday. 

"AI optionality [is] offset by growth deceleration," analyst Vivek Arya said in a Tuesday note.

The full story can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Stocks making the biggest midday moves

Here are some of the names moving during midday trading:

SolarEdge Technologies — Shares dropped 19% after the solar company reported $991 million in revenue, missing analysts' estimates of $992 million, according to Refinitiv. SolarEdge also issued disappointing third-quarter revenue guidance.

CVS Health — The stock gained 3.4% during midday trading Wednesday after the retail pharmacy reported earnings of $2.21 per share on revenue of $88.9 billion. Wall Street analysts expected $2.11 per share on earnings of $86.5 billion, per Refinitiv.

Norwegian Cruise Line — Shares sank 3%, a day after the cruise liner gave weaker-than-expected guidance for the third quarter. However, its second-quarter earnings beat analysts' estimates. Shares were also downgraded by Susquehanna to neutral from positive.

To see more stocks making midday moves, read the full story here.

— Michelle Fox

Nasdaq Composite poised to see worst day since February

The Nasdaq Composite is on pace to end down around 2.2%, which would be the worst daily performance since February.

The technology-heavy index last closed with a bigger loss on Feb. 21, which it finished about 2.5% lower.

But if the Nasdaq takes another leg down and ends the session worse than 2.5% below flat, it would be the worst session of the year. The next marker to watch was met on Dec. 15, when the index dropped 3.3%.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Boeing supplier Spirit Aerosystems tumbles on production cut

Spirit AeroSystems shares tumbled 20% after the key supplier to Boeing reported a wider-than-expected loss for the last quarter and lowered its shipment forecast for the year following a brief labor strike earlier this summer.

The strike at the Wichita, Kansas plant will reduce deliveries of 737s -- Boeing's best-selling plane -- to 370 to 390 this year, sharply lower than its estimate to ship between 390 and 420 of them this year, which "will negatively impact expected revenue, earnings and cash flow for 2023," Spirit said in a quarterly earnings report.

— Leslie Josephs

Communication services, information technology stocks lead declines

Communication services and information technology stocks lagged during Wednesday's session, falling more than 2% each.

The communication services sector dropped 2.1%. Electronic Arts led the declines, last down nearly 7%. Take-Two Interactive and Meta Platforms dropped more than 3% each, while Alphabet, Walt Disney and Netflix all fell more than 2%.

Information technology names were among the worst-performing stocks, with the sector last down 2.5%. SolarEdge was the biggest laggard, cratering nearly 19% on disappointing guidance. First Solar dropped more than 6%.

Advanced Micro Devices tumbled more than 7% despite better-than-expected results. The downward move rippled across the semiconductor and software industries, with Nvidia and Micron Technology last down 5.8% and 4.6%, respectively. Palo Alto Networks edged 7% lower.

— Samantha Subin

Defensive S&P 500 sectors buck market downtrend

Defensive sectors marked a bright spot in the S&P 500 as the major indices hit selloff mode in the wake of Fitch's U.S. credit rating downgrade.

The consumer staples and health care sectors rose 0.5% each at around midday Wednesday. CVS Health and Humana contributed to the health care sector's gains, rising 3.6% and 6.2%, respectively on strong earnings. Some other winners included Waters and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which added 7.6% and 2.5%, respectively.

Consumer staples got a lift from Hormel Foods, Campbell Soup, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Molson Coors Beverage, which added more than 2% each. General Mills, Conagra and PepsiCo all rose at least 1%. Bunge jumped 5.1% on strong earnings and a guidance lift.

— Samantha Subin

Rosenblatt disagrees with market in Pinterest upgrade

Investment firm Rosenblatt disagrees with investors who sold Pinterest following its earnings report.

Despite what analyst Barton Crockett called a "decent" second quarter report released Tuesday, shares were down around 3%. The company beat Wall Street expectations on revenue when comparing performance against the consensus estimate compiled by FactSet.

Crockett upgraded shares to buy from neutral. He cited margins rising, revenue ramps, the positive reaction to commerce and a deal to increase the advertising load in his decision.

"In a choppy ad market, with cost-pressures galore, Pinterest is making enticing progress, laying a foundation for revenue acceleration, margin expansion and rising relevancy that can bolster the shares," he said.

— Alex Harring

Credit sectors more appealing than equities in a high-yield environment, says Jefferies

The 10-year yield hit 4,102% Monday, marking its highest level since November 10, 2022. Jefferies' chief market strategist David Zevros believes that the equity market may start to see a bit of a crunch if the 10-year yield continues to push higher.

"If we start to really push 10-year yields up to the top of the range, [such as] 4.25% or higher, I think that's where you can get a little bit of an issue with with people. People thinking about valuation slightly differently," Zevros told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Wednesday.

The credit sectors of the market, particularly leveraged loans, may be easier than stocks to "skin the return" as yields remain higher for longer, Zevros added.

— Hakyung Kim

Freshworks shares jump more than 18%

Canaccord Genuity upgraded Freshworks shares to buy from hold, citing several positive catalysts ahead for the software company.

"There was a lot to like in Freshworks' Q2 print, the second in a row that we'd describe in that light," Hynes said in a Tuesday note. The company is "bringing it all together — [Go-to-market (GTM)] enhancements, operating efficiency, AI products and more," Hynes added. The company posted its second-quarter results Tuesday.

Freshworks shares jumped more than 18% on Wednesday.

To read more about the upgrade, click here.

— Hakyung Kim

Chinese tech stocks fall after regulators float child smartphone rules

Shares of Chinese technology stocks were under pressure on Wednesday after regulators in China proposed limits on the use of smartphones for minors.

The proposed rules call for a "minor mode" for smartphones that limits both time use and content that can be accessed, depending on how old a child is.

Shares of JD.com, Baidu and Alibaba all fell more than 2% in morning trading. Shares of Tencent Music and the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) fell more than 3%.

— Jesse Pound

Solar ETF drops as SolarEdge earnings weigh on sector

A selloff in SolarEdge shares following its earnings report has dragged on solar stocks.

The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) is down more than 4% in morning trading. That puts it on track to post its worst dance since April 26, when the fund finished 5.5% lower.

SolarEdge led the fund lower after missing revenue expectations for the quarter. The company reported $991 million, slightly under the $992 million consensus estimate of analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Shares have tumbled about 17.5%, putting the stock on pace for its worst session since Aug. 3, 2022, when it closed 19.1% down.

Shoals, SunRun, Enphase and SunPower also contributed to the ETF's drop, with each stock losing around 5%.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Stocks open lower after Fitch downgrade

Stocks opened lower on Wednesday after Fitch downgraded the long-term credit rating for the U.S.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 126 points, or 0.35%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite shed nearly 1.2%.

— Samantha Subin

Norwegian Cruise Line shares fall nearly 3% premarket

Norwegian Cruise Line's stock has jumped more than 58% in 2023 — but the rally is weak compared with peers Royal Caribbean and Carnival, which have surged 117.3% and 123.2%, respectively.

Although the company's second-quarter earnings topped Wall Street's estimates, the stock on Tuesday subsequently dropped more than 12% on weaker-than-expected guidance for the third quarter.  

"Despite a constructive mid-term guide from NCLH (e.g., >70% of sales over the last 90 days were for 2024 and 2025 sailings), it's clear the liner is still  in the early-to-middle innings of its turnaround, with the return to pre-pandemic adjusted EBITDA margins going to take 'some time,'" analyst Christopher Stathoulopoulos said in a Wednesday note. The firm downgraded its rating on Norwegian Cruise Line shares to neutral from positive.

Shares fell more than 3% before the bell.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about his downgrade here.

— Hakyung Kim

Match jumps 10% as investors cheer strong earnings and outlook

Shares of online dating stock Match Group climbed more than 10% during premarket trading after beating Wall Street's expectations for earnings and offering strong guidance.

The Tinder and Hinge parent reported 48 cents earned per share on $830 million in revenue for the second quarter on Tuesday. Both figures were better than analysts had anticipated, with consensus estimates compiled by Refinitiv showing Wall Street forecasted 45 cents in earnings per share and revenue of $811 million.

Match also gave an upbeat outlook for the current quarter. The company said to expect revenue between $875 million and $885 million in the quarter, a range that's higher than the analyst consensus estimate of $864 million.

BTIG upgraded shares to buy from neutral following the report, citing a recovery in Tinder.

— Alex Harring

Stocks making the biggest premarket moves

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell on Wednesday:

• SolarEdge Technologies — The solar stock plunged 14.6% after the company missed revenue expectations in its second quarter, reporting $991 million compared to the expected $992 million from analysts polled by Refinitiv.
• CVS Health — Shares of the retail pharmacy giant fell 2% premarket even after the company posted strong earnings and revenue for the second quarter. CVS reported earnings of $2.21 per share on revenue of $88.9 billion.
• Humana — The health insurer added 5.8% after reporting second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $8.94, topping the $8.76 anticipated by analysts, per StreetAccount.

Read here to see which other companies are making moves before the open.

— Pia Singh

Private payrolls rise more than expected in July

Private sector companies added more jobs than anticipated in July, according to a Wednesday report from ADP.

The payroll processing company said jobs gains totaled 324,000 in July, with 201,000 stemming from hospitality and leisure jobs. That came in well above the 175,000 additions Dow Jones economics expected.

It marks a decline from June's revised 455,000 number.

— Jeff Cox, Samantha Subin

SolarEdge plunges on mixed results, weak outlook

SolarEdge Technologies shed more than 12% before the bell after reporting mixed quarterly results and sharing a third-quarter revenue outlook that fell short of expectations.

The solar company reported earnings of $2.62 a share, excluding items. That came in ahead of the $2.52 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. SolarEdge reported revenues of $991 million, slightly below the $992 million expected.

Along with the mixed results, SolarEdge issued weaker-than-expected revenue guidance for the third quarter. The company said it expects revenues to range between $880 million and $920 million. Wall Street analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected revenues of $1.05 billion.

— Samantha Subin

AMD gains on earnings

Shares of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices added more than 2% before the bell after posting better-than-expected second-quarter results.

Despite the top-and-bottom line beat, the company reported an 18% decline in revenue from a year ago and shared a slightly lighter-than-expected sales forecast for the third quarter.

AMD, a maker of graphics processing units playing an integral role in large language models and generative AI, has benefitted from the recent boost in related stocks, with shares up 81.6% year to date.

CEO Lisa Su said that the company made "strong progress" during the period to meet growing customer AI needs.

— Samantha Subin, Kif Leswing

CVS Health tops earnings expectations

CVS Health shares moved nearly 2% higher in the premarket after reporting second-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations on both the top and bottom lines as it trims costs and slashes jobs amid its push into healthcare.

The healthcare giant posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.21, versus the $2.11 expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenues came in at $88.9 billion, ahead of the $86.5 billion expected.

The company also kept its full-year adjusted guidance calling for earnings between $8.50 and $8.70 per share.

— Samantha Subin, Spencer Kimball

Yellen downplays Fitch debt downgrade

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that she disagreed with Fitch's decision to downgrade the U.S.' debt.

"The change by Fitch Ratings announced today is arbitrary and based on outdated data," Yellen said in a statement. "Fitch's quantitative ratings model declined markedly between 2018 and 2020 – and yet Fitch is announcing its change now, despite the progress that we see in many of the indicators that Fitch relies on for its decision."

"Many of these measures, including those related to governance, have shown improvement over the course of this Administration, with the passage of bipartisan legislation to address the debt limit, invest in infrastructure, and make other investments in America's competitiveness," Yellen added.

— Fred Imbert

2-year Treasury yield falls as investors weigh economic outlook

U.S. Treasury yields were mixed on Wednesday as investors considered the outlook for the economy after Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S.' long-term foreign currency issuer default rating on Tuesday.

At 4:13 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by over one basis point to 4.0292% after hitting its highest level since early July on Tuesday. The 2-year Treasury yield was trading over four basis points lower at 4.8705%.

Meanwhile, the 30-year Treasury yield was up by less than a basis point to 4.1074%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

European equity markets open lower

European stock markets opened lower Wednesday as investors navigate a busy week of earnings and global sentiment drags.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 1% in the first few minutes of trading, with all sectors and major bourses trading in negative territory. Media stocks were the biggest downward pressure on the index, with a drop of 1.6%, while financial services lost 1.5% and household goods were down 1.4%.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

ASEAN manufacturing activity sees softest expansion in seven months

Manufacturing activity across the ASEAN region expanded at the softest pace in seven months, with the headline purchasing managers index at 50.8. in July.

This marked a third straight month of decline and pointed to a mixed picture across the ASEAN region, with only four of the seven constituents registering an improvement in operating conditions.

Indonesia displaced Thailand at the top of the PMI rankings with a PMI reading of 53.3 for July, while Thailand recorded a PMI reading of 50.7.

The Philippines and Myanmar rounded off the list of countries with improving manufacturing sectors, with PMI readings of 51.9 and 51.1 respectively.

In contrast, the countries that reported a deterioration in July were Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.

— Lim Hui Jie

Country Garden Services surges 20% following plan to buy back shares

Shares of Hong Kong property management services company Country Garden Services surged 20% after the company announced its intention to repurchase up to 337.31 million shares, representing 10% of its total issued shares as of May 25.

In a filing, the company said the shares have been trading at a price level which does not fully reflect its intrinsic value. The move is aimed at shoring up investor confidence.

However, the filing also cautioned that the share repurchase is subject to the sole discretion of the board "based on the market conditions and that no assurance can be given as to the timing, quantity or price of any repurchase."

— Lim Hui Jie

Currency check: Yen strengthens and Aussie dollar weakens after U.S. credit rating downgrade

Asian currencies largely strengthened against the U.S. dollar after rating agency Fitch cut the U.S.' credit rating from AAA to AA+.

IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said this will spark risk aversion flows, which means lower equities in Asia, as well as safe haven buying of treasuries and currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc against riskier currencies, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

The Japanese yen, long considered a safe haven currency, strengthened 0.16% to trade at 143.1 against the greenback.

In contrast, the Australian dollar weakened marginally to trade at 1.51 against the greenback and the New Zealand dollar slid 0.31% to trade at 1.63.

— Lim Hui Jie

South Korea's inflation rate hits 2.3% in July

South Korea's consumer price index rose 2.3% year-on-year in July, the lowest rate of growth since June 2021 and lower than the 2.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The inflation print also marks its sixth straight month of decline. On a month on month basis, the country's consumer price index rose 0.1%.

On Monday, minutes from the Bank of Korea{=null} revealed that board members were in favor of the benchmark rate being held at 3.5%, but "while closely monitoring real economic indicators, such as the inflation rate and financial stability conditions," said one member.

— Lim Hui Jie

Fitch downgrades U.S. long-term rating to AA+ from AAA

Fitch Ratings cut the United States' long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to AA+ from AAA on Tuesday, citing an erosion of governance and expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years.

In particular, the agency called out brinksmanship in Washington around debt ceiling negotiations earlier this year. President Joe Biden signed a debt limit deal on June 2, just days prior to the X-date of June 5 – the expected date when the nation could default.

"The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management," Fitch said.

Read more here.

-Darla Mercado

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out the companies making headlines after hours.

• SolarEdge Technologies — The solar stock dropped 11% in extended trading. SolarEdge missed revenue expectations in its second quarter, posting $991 million compared to the expected $992 million from analysts polled by Refinitiv. The company beat earnings estimates, posting an adjusted $2.62 per share, better than the $2.52 per-share estimate.
• Advanced Micro Devices — The chip stock jumped nearly 4% after Advanced Micro Devices reported better-than-expected quarterly results. AMD reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 58 cents per share on revenue of $5.36 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected per-share earnings of 57 cents on revenue of $5.31 billion.
• Freshworks — Freshworks advanced nearly 14% after reporting second-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines. The software company reported adjusted earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $145 million. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected per-share earnings of 2 cents on revenue of $141 million.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

Stock futures open lower

U.S. stock futures were lower Tuesday night.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid by 179 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures dipped 0.62% and 0.79%, respectively.

— Sarah Min