WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After turning in a lackluster performance earlier in the session, stocks have come under pressure over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages have shown a notable move to the downside in recent trading, with the Dow joining the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in negative territory.
Currently, the major averages are off their lows of the session but still in the red. The Nasdaq is down 197.61 points or 0.9 percent at 22,591.37, the S&P 500 is down 35.53 points or 0.5 percent at 6,658.22 and the Dow is down 96.69 points or 0.2 percent at 46,284.85.
The weakness that has emerged on Wall Street may partly reflect concerns stocks are overvalued following comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Speaking at an event Rhode Island, Powell described equity prices as 'fairly highly valued' following the recent run to record highs.
Powell also addressed the outlook for monetary policy, noting the Fed is facing a 'challenging situation' as near-term risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment to the downside.
'Two-sided risks mean that there is no risk-free path,' Powell said. 'If we ease too aggressively, we could leave the inflation job unfinished and need to reverse course later to fully restore 2 percent inflation.'
'If we maintain restrictive policy too long, the labor market could soften unnecessarily,' he continued. 'When our goals are in tension like this, our framework calls for us to balance both sides of our dual mandate.'
A pullback by shares of Nvidia (NVDA) is also weighing on the Nasdaq, with the chipmaker slumping by 3 percent after surging nearly 4 percent to a new record closing high on Monday.
The rally in the previous session came after Nvidia and OpenAI announced a strategic partnership to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems for OpenAI's next-generation AI infrastructure.
Sector News
Software stocks have come under pressure considerable selling pressure over the course of the session, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index down by 1.4 percent. The index ended the previous session at a record closing high.
Notable weakness is also visible among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent loss being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index.
On the other hand, energy stocks continue to turn in a strong performance amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index surging by 4.0 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index jumping by 2.0 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7 percent, while South Korea's Kospi climbed by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks moved mostly higher on the day. The French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the uptrend and closed just below the unchanged line.
In the bond market, treasuries continue to show a lack of direction after ending the previous session roughly flat. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.143 percent.
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