S&P 500 slips, but energy rally keeps lid on losses

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, 92 points, Nasdaq gained 0.2%, the S&P 500 fell 0.2%.

Energy stocks rose more than 1% as oil prices jumped after Saudi Arabia detailed plans to extend its production cuts until the end of 2023, while Russia said it would extend export cuts of 300,000 barrels for the day until the of the year.

The production cuts — that have supported a recent revival in oil prices — delivered by OPEC and its allies have pushed the oil market to a deficit of 2.3 million barrels per day, {{Goldman Sachs said in a recent note}}.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG), and Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) were among the largest gainers in energy.

U.S. Treasury yields climbed even as Fed officials signaled that the central bank could skip a rate hike at its Sept. 19-20 meeting later this month.

In a sign that of support for a skip in September, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that there “is nothing that is saying we [the Fed]need to do anything imminent anytime soon.”

The growing odds of a September pause come amid optimism of the U.S. avoiding a recession, or achieving a soft landing, following recent data showed that the pace of inflation remains steady and the economy continues remain resilient.

Airbnb  (NASDAQ:ABNB) and Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) were in rally mode as both stocks are set to be included in the S&P 500 on Sept. 18.

Entry into the S&P 500 usually spurs a jump in demand from passive funds that track the benchmark.