By Anietie anii-bassey
U.S. stock indexes edged lower Tuesday as trading resumed following a three-day holiday weekend, with losses in major technology shares and disappointing corporate updates dragging on the broader market.
By midmorning, the S&P 500 was down 0.8%, putting it on pace for its fourth decline in five sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 183 points, or 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2%, reflecting particular weakness in technology and growth stocks.
Consumer-focused companies were among the day’s notable decliners. General Mills slid 6.8% after the maker of Cheerios, Nature Valley and Pillsbury products said shoppers are growing more cautious. The company lowered its forecast for an underlying profit measure for fiscal 2026, warning that declines could be steeper than previously anticipated as customers pull back on spending.
Recent surveys have shown U.S. households remain uneasy, grappling with stubbornly elevated inflation, a labor market that has cooled after a subdued year of job growth, and renewed concerns over tariffs. Those pressures are increasingly reflected in corporate earnings reports and outlooks.
Shares of Genuine Parts Company tumbled 11.5% after the auto and industrial replacement parts supplier reported quarterly profit and revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
The company said it is “navigating a dynamic environment” and announced plans to separate into two publicly traded entities by early 2027—one focused on automotive parts and the other on industrial components. Investors appeared wary of both the earnings miss and the strategic shift.
Providing a partial offset to the broader market’s decline was Warner Bros. Discovery, which rose 2.4%. The media company said it is seeking a “best and final” buyout offer from Paramount Global, which is attempting to outbid Netflix for control of the entertainment business. Shares of Paramount Skydance climbed 7.2%, while Netflix slipped 1.8% as investors assessed the evolving takeover battle.
Technology heavyweights exerted some of the heaviest downward pressure on the indexes. Nvidia fell 1.8%, and Microsoft dropped 1.5%. Because of their massive market values, such companies carry outsized influence over the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, amplifying their impact on overall performance.
Market strategists say stability among large-cap technology firms is critical if the broader rally is to regain momentum. Investors have recently shown a tendency to sell first and reassess later, contributing to abrupt pullbacks that have cut short attempted rebounds.
Last week’s volatility underscored that fragility. Shares of software and other companies tied to artificial intelligence fell sharply as investors rotated away from firms perceived as vulnerable if AI technologies reshape industries in unpredictable ways. The sell-off came despite the broader market hovering near record highs.
Some portfolio managers are also voicing concern that corporations may be overextending themselves in the race to build AI infrastructure. Billions of dollars are being funneled into data centers and advanced chips, and fund managers say those investments will need to translate into substantial productivity gains and profits to justify their scale.
A recent survey by Bank of America found a record share of global fund managers believe companies are “overinvesting” in artificial intelligence.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note held at 4.04%, unchanged from late Friday levels, suggesting fixed-income investors were not making large adjustments to their expectations for interest rates or economic growth.
Overseas markets were mixed. European indexes posted modest gains, while much of Asia remained quiet due to Lunar New Year holidays. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4%. Sentiment in Tokyo was dampened by weaker-than-expected economic data and a 5.1% drop in shares of SoftBank Group.
The decline in SoftBank followed a strong rally fueled by investor optimism after a decisive victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party in a Feb. 8 general election.
Despite the recent choppiness, major U.S. indexes remain close to historic highs. Still, the swift sell-offs that have interrupted upward swings in recent sessions have left some investors uneasy about the durability of the market’s advance as corporate earnings, consumer confidence and AI spending come under closer scrutiny.
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