Stocks fell Tuesday as Nvidia led a broader tech decline ahead of the chipmaker’s earnings report.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 64.19 points to 38,563.80.
The S&P 500 capsized 30.06 points to 4,975.51.
The NASDAQ index dived 144.87 points to 15,630.78.
Shares of Nvidia, which is set to report earnings Wednesday after the bell, fell nearly 5%. Although Nvidia is expected to post impressive results, investors have expressed concerns about its sky-high valuation. Amazon shares declined 1.7%, while shares of Microsoft and Meta each lost about 0.9%.
So far this year, the technology sector has added 5.2%, making it the third-highest gainer in the broader market, losing to communication services and health care. Nvidia has continued its blockbuster stretch of gains, adding more than 37% so far this year, while its ‘Magnificent 7’ peers have gained Meta and Amazon have gained roughly 32% and 9%, respectively.
Financial stocks were also in view Tuesday following a blockbuster announcement that Capital One Financial agreed to purchase Discover Financial Services in an all-stock deal worth $35.3 billion, which is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025. Capital One added less than 1% following the announcement, while Discover jumped more than 12.5%.
In separate deal news, Walmart announced it will acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion, or $11.50 a share, leading shares of Vizio to climb higher by about 16%. Walmart shares added more than 3.5% after the big-box retailer also beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, fueled by double-digit growth in the company’s global e-commerce sales.
The moves follow a losing week on Wall Street after economic data raised concerns that the Federal Reserve may not begin cutting interest rates as soon, or by as much, as market participants expected this year.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury regained lost strength, dropping yields to 4.27% from Friday’s 4.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices stumbled 92 cents to $78.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $11.80 to $2,035.90.
