WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday, extending the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. The Nasdaq showed a significant move to the downside on the day, reflecting weakness among tech stocks.
The major averages all ended the day in negative territory. The Nasdaq slumped 355.20 points or 1.3 percent to 26,289.71, the S&P 500 slid 53.30 points or 0.7 percent to 7,691.76 and the Dow fell 116.38 points or 0.2 percent to 53,343.40.
The weakness on Wall Street came amid worries about a recent increase in bond yields, with the 30-year bond yield reaching its highest levels in nearly two decades before giving back ground.
Treasury yields have moved to the upside amid lingering concerns about the outlook for inflation due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Crude oil prices have extended the surge seen over the two previous sessions after President Donald Trump said there are currently no U.S.-Iran talks taking place or scheduled.
Trump also claimed in a post on Truth Social that the Strait of Hormuz is 'open and operating' and 'all water mines have been removed or detonated,' although reports suggest traffic through the crucial waterway remains limited.
Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com noted the increase in treasury yields comes 'despite softer recent economic data reducing expectations for an imminent Fed hike.'
'Instead, the long end is responding to persistent inflation risks, heavy government borrowing and growing competition for capital-including debt issuance associated with the AI investment boom,' Hathorn said.
She added, 'That creates an uncomfortable environment for equities because financial conditions can tighten even without the Fed raising rates.'
In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. rose by slightly less than expected in the month of July.
The Fed said industrial production crept up by 0.2 percent in July after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in June.
Economists had expected industrial production to increase by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, resulting in a 5 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Considerable weakness was also visible among networking and computer hardware stocks, contributing to the slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Gold stocks also moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.9 percent.
Airline, housing and steel stocks also saw notable weakness, while pharmaceutical, healthcare and energy stocks showed strong moves to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 2.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks moved mostly lower on the day. The French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both slid by 0.8 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved modestly higher over the course of the session after seeing early weakness. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.8 basis points to 4.706 percent after reaching a high of 4.746 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
