New York — Wall Street closed mixed Tuesday as major technology and semiconductor stocks extended a volatile stretch driven by Middle East tensions, Federal Reserve uncertainty, and the looming SpaceX IPO on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.17% to close at 50,872 points. The S&P 500 slipped 0.26% to 7,386, while the Nasdaq bore the brunt of the selloff, falling 0.97% to 25,678.
Markets traded under a cloud of geopolitical uncertainty after President Donald Trump announced retaliatory measures against Iran following the downing of a U.S. military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz — an incident with no casualties. Despite the threat, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 3.1% to $88.20 per barrel after Trump suggested a deal with Iran could come within “two or three days,” and Washington reported that crude traffic through Hormuz is increasing.
The tech sector dropped 1.82%, the sharpest sectoral loss of the session, continuing a pattern of Friday losses, Monday partial recovery, and Tuesday retreat. Marvell Technology — recently highlighted by Nvidia — led decliners with a 7.6% drop. Qualcomm fell 5.7% and AMD shed 3.0%. Nvidia dipped 0.22%, Broadcom lost 1.1%, Intel fell 2.1%, and Micron slipped 1.4%.
Analysts point to two converging forces behind the tech pressure: persistent inflation and a resilient labor market that have investors pricing in a potential Federal Reserve rate hike later this year, and the SpaceX IPO. With the Musk aerospace company set to debut Friday, many investors appear to be rotating out of appreciated positions to fund fresh capital for what is expected to be the largest IPO in history.
Most sectors finished in positive territory, led by real estate (+2.0%) and basic materials (+1.7%).
| Asset | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 50,872 | +0.17% |
| S&P 500 | 7,386 | -0.26% |
| Nasdaq | 25,678 | -0.97% |
| WTI Crude | $88.20/bbl | -3.1% |
| Gold | $4,284/oz | ↓ |
| 10-yr Treasury yield | 4.518% | ↑ |
| EUR/USD | 1.154 | — |
| Bitcoin | $62,000 | ↓ |
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