Major U.S. indexes finished little changed Tuesday as gains in technology and financial shares offset earlier declines, with investors awaiting key inflation data.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. equity markets closed near flat Tuesday after recovering from early-session losses, as a rebound in major technology stocks and strength in financial shares helped stabilize trading.
The S&P 500 information technology sector reversed a drop of as much as 1.5% during the session, with gains in Nvidia and Apple offsetting declines in Microsoft and Oracle. The recovery followed last week’s selloff, when concerns about artificial intelligence disrupting existing business models contributed to the sharpest weekly decline for Wall Street’s three major indexes since mid-November.
“There’s a lot of different trends going on in terms of where investors want to put money right now and you see that in this market where you just see spikes up and spikes down, on maybe not a daily basis, but on a regular basis,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.
“The market is looking very short-term here and there will be a return to AI plays being very much in favor.”
Uncertainty surrounding competition from Chinese artificial intelligence developers added to investor caution. On Monday, Alibaba introduced a new AI model, Qwen 3.5, designed to independently carry out complex tasks.
Despite broader gains in technology, software stocks remained under pressure. The S&P 500 software index fell more than 1%, with Intuit and Cadence Design among the weakest performers.
Preliminary data showed the S&P 500 rising 7.34 points, or 0.11%, to close at 6,843.51. The Nasdaq Composite gained 40.08 points, or 0.14%, to 22,578.38, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 42.99 points, or 0.09%, to 49,543.92.
Financial stocks ranked among the strongest-performing sectors. Gains in Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase helped the Dow recover from an earlier decline of 0.7%.
Consumer staples lagged the broader market, weighed down by a drop in General Mills shares after the company reduced its annual core sales and profit forecasts.
Investors are now focused on the upcoming personal consumption expenditure report, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, for further clarity on price trends and potential impacts on monetary policy. The report follows cooler-than-expected consumer inflation data released last week, which modestly increased expectations for interest-rate cuts.
Traders are assigning roughly a 63% probability to at least a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, marking the first time odds have exceeded 50% for that timeframe.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said the central bank could approve “several more” rate cuts this year if inflation resumes progress toward the Fed’s 2% target. Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr indicated that another rate cut could occur later, citing ongoing risks to the inflation outlook. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said policymakers must closely analyze whether AI-driven productivity gains are boosting economic growth without reigniting inflation pressures.
Corporate developments also moved individual stocks. Norwegian Cruise Line was the top gainer on the S&P 500 after activist investor Elliott disclosed a stake exceeding 10% in the company. Shares of Fiserv climbed following a Wall Street Journal report that activist investor Jana Partners had taken a position in the payments firm.
Masimo shares surged after Danaher announced it would acquire the medical technology company for $9.9 billion, including debt. Danaher shares declined following the announcement.
Original article
Comments