Stock Market

Stocks Drop After Winning Streak Comes to an End as Investors Await Tariff News, Fed Meeting; Palantir Slides After Earnings


Stocks moved lower in early trading Tuesday as investors reacted to a steady stream of earnings reports while awaiting news on tariffs and the results of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting that is set to start today.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were each down 0.7% about 15 minutes after the opening bell, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.9%. Stocks fell Monday to snap a nine-session winning streak for the S&P 500, its longest in two decades.

Over the past two weeks, stocks have recovered from the losses that followed President Trump’s early-April announcement of plans to impose hefty tariffs on leading trading partners, notably China. Investors have grown optimistic that the White House will negotiate deals that will result in lower rates than Trump initially proposed, though the uncertainty about where trade policy will land has spurred concerns about the outlook for the economy and corporate profits.

Investors will be paying close attention to what the Fed has to say about the impact of tariffs on the economy and interest rates. The central bank isn’t expected to adjust its benchmark rate this week, but market participants are eager to hear what Fed Chair Jerome Powell—who is scheduled to speak Wednesday afternoon following the policy committee meeting—about the outlook.

Shares of companies reporting quarterly results were among the noteworthy movers in early trading Tuesday. Shares of Palantir (PLTR) plunged 12% even as the AI software maker reported first-quarter earnings that were in line with Wall Street estimates and issued a rosy outlook. Constellation Energy (CEG), another AI investor favorite, was up 6% after releasing its earnings report.

Ford Motor (F) shares climbed 2% after the automaker reported first-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ expectations but suspended its full-year forecast amid uncertainty about tariffs. Shares of Mattel (MAT) fell 1% after the toy maker suspended its guidance and said it would raise prices in response to the tariffs.

Mega-cap technology stocks, which powered the recent rally, were mostly lower on Tuesday. Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA) and Broadcom (AVGO) were all down more than 1%, while Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) fell slightly. Apple (AAPL) inched higher after two straight days of declines.

Shares of Newmont Mining (NEM), the world’s largest gold miner, were up nearly 2%, adding to yesterday’s gains, as the price of the precious metal continued to rise. Gold futures were up 2.5% at $3,405 an ounce in recent trading.

Crude oil futures rebounded from steep declines yesterday. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, rose 3.8% to $59.35 per barrel this morning after hitting a four-year low on Monday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, notably mortgages, was up slightly at 4.35%. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, fell 0.4% to 99.45.

Bitcoin was at $93,900, down from an overnight high of $95,200. The digital currency was trading near $98,000 on Friday.



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