The U.S. stock market faced a decline during mixed trading on Tuesday, reflecting a general trend of uncertainty as gold and silver prices rebounded after a recent sell-off.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.8%, distancing itself from the all-time high recorded just last week. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 166 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 1.4%. Significant pullbacks were observed in key tech stocks, with Nvidia and Microsoft sliding 2.8% and 2.9%, respectively. Investors expressed concerns that these tech giants might have overstretched in their valuations after a prolonged period of market dominance.
Software companies, particularly those vulnerable to competition from emerging artificial intelligence, also registered steep declines. ServiceNow experienced a dramatic 7% drop, contributing to a year-to-date loss of 28.3%. This downward trajectory marked the S&P 500’s fourth loss in five days, despite many stocks within the index advancing, including a notable 6.8% surge for Palantir Technologies following a quarterly profit that exceeded expectations and a forecasted revenue growth of 61% for the year.
In the metals markets, gold prices rebounded by 6.1%, settling at $4,935.00 per ounce after last week’s massive drop from nearly $5,600. Silver also saw an impressive recovery, rallying 8.2%. The rise in gold and silver comes amid broader investor concerns regarding economic instability, including issues related to tariffs, a weakening U.S. dollar, and substantial global debt burdens. Prior to this recent uptick, gold and silver had experienced unprecedented gains over the past year, but momentum faltered last week, with gold plummeting and silver experiencing a staggering 31.4% decline on Friday alone.
Market analysts attributed this shift partly to expectations surrounding the incoming Federal Reserve leadership under President Donald Trump’s nominee, which indicated a commitment to high interest rates to counter inflation. Observers noted that the sharp rise in metals prices had become unsustainable, with many traders agreeing that the recent corrections were inevitable.
On Wall Street, PayPal’s shares sank 20.3% after the company reported earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations. In conjunction with the disappointing figures, PayPal announced a new CEO amidst claims of insufficient execution pace over the past two years. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer also saw a drop of 3.3%, despite reporting stronger profits, as its 2026 profit forecast did not meet expectations.
Banco Santander shares plummeted 6.4% following the announcement of its acquisition of Webster Financial in a deal valued at approximately $12.3 billion, though Webster Bank’s stock rose 9%.
In contrast, PepsiCo experienced a boost of 4.9%, as its latest quarterly profits and revenues surpassed expectations, alongside plans to reduce snack prices to attract inflation-weary customers. Health care provider DaVita enjoyed a 21.2% surge after reporting quarterly profits exceeding analyst forecasts.
Overall, the S&P 500 fell by 58.63 points to close at 6,917.81, with the Dow down 166.67 at 49,240.99, and the Nasdaq dropping 336.92 to end at 23,255.19. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note eased slightly to 4.26%.
International markets reflected a mixed response, with Asian indexes rebounding after sharp losses the previous day. South Korea’s Kospi saw a dramatic 6.8% increase, its best performance since the initial recovery period post-COVID-19 in early 2020. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 3.9%, while markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong saw increases of 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively. In contrast, European indexes faced slight declines, with France’s CAC 40 down marginally.
These movements across various sectors underscore the ongoing volatility in today’s financial climate, driven by a combination of corporate earnings reports, geopolitical concerns, and investor sentiment regarding future economic conditions.
