The S&P 500 Opened Down 0.7% Before the Close Was Known

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, Nov. 10, after the hotter inflation report. The New York Times said that at the start of trading the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and the Nasdaq was down 1%. The Times said both indexes had posted their best day since April on Monday, so the open was a reversal of that rally rather than a completed one.

An opening print is not a closing price. The evidence available later in the morning did not show where either index settled. A lower open also does not change a grocery receipt, a gasoline price, or the rate on a fixed loan. It was the first equity reaction to the same consumer price report that lifted expectations for a December Fed increase.

People who own broad stock funds can see those holdings move with the indexes. Someone who does not own shares does not gain or lose cash from this open.

Did Tuesday's lower stock open cut a household bill? No household price or existing-loan change has been announced. The verified move is an opening drop of 0.7% for the S&P 500 and 1% for the Nasdaq, and the close was not in this evidence.