WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving sharply lower early in the session, stocks regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday but remained firmly negative. With the continued weakness, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed lower for the fourth straight session.
The Nasdaq plunged 260.54 points or 1.4 percent to a three-month closing low of 19,026.39 and the S&P 500 slid 28.00 points or 0.5 percent to a one-month closing low of 5,955.25, although the narrower Dow bucked the downtrend and climbed 159.95 points or 0.4 percent to 43,621.16.
Significant weakness among technology stocks weighed on Wall Street, as reflected the notable slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Traders continued to express concerns about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence trade, with AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) tumbling by 2.8 percent ahead of the release of its fourth quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday.
The selling pressure also came amid concerns about the outlook for the economy following the release of a Conference Board report showing a significant deterioration by U.S. consumer confidence in the month of February.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index plunged to 98.3 in February from an upwardly revised 105.3 in January.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to dip to 103.0 from the 104.1 originally reported for the previous month.
Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board, noted the consumer confidence index saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021.
'This is the third consecutive month on month decline, bringing the Index to the bottom of the range that has prevailed since 2022,' said Guichard. 'Of the five components of the Index, only consumers' assessment of present business conditions improved, albeit slightly.'
She added, 'Average 12-month inflation expectations surged from 5.2% to 6% in February. This increase likely reflected a mix of factors, including sticky inflation but also the recent jump in prices of key household staples like eggs and the expected impact of tariffs.'
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbling by 2.3 percent.
Computer hardware and software stocks also saw considerable weakness, contributing to the steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
A sharp pullback by the price of gold also weighed on gold stocks, resulting in a 1.6 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Notable weakness was also visible among oil, financial and airline stocks, while housing and pharmaceutical stocks showed strong moves to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved sharply higher, extending a recent upward trend. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, tumbled 9.5 basis points to a two-month closing low of 4.298 percent.
Looking Ahead
A report on new home sales may attract attention on Wednesday, although activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the release of more closely watched data later in the week.
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