NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped from record highs on Tuesday as a series of downbeat earnings weighed on the indexes, while investors looked ahead to the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the day.
At 11:36 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 lost 14.45 points, or 0.23%, to 6,374.98, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 58.64 points, or 0.28%, to 21,119.59.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 198.93 points, or 0.44%, to 44,638.52, about 460 points short of its record peak.
Quarterly results from key Dow components UnitedHealth and Boeing failed to impress investors. Health insurer UnitedHealth fell 5.1% after a disappointing profit forecast, while Boeing lost 3.7% despite reporting a smaller second-quarter loss.
UnitedHealth’s stock has lost nearly half its value from the beginning of 2025. On the day, the healthcare index lost 0.4%.
Meanwhile, United Parcel Service became the latest victim of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs as the stock tumbled 9.3% after the company reported lower-than-expected second-quarter profit.
Similarly, Whirlpool sank 10.8% after the home appliances maker slashed its annual earnings forecast and dividend, citing tariff-centric pressures.
The Dow Jones Transport Average dropped 2.1% to a one-week low.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence in July increased more than expected to 97.2. In June, US job openings and hiring had decreased, pointing to a further slowdown in labor market activity.
The week had started on firm footing after the US-EU trade deal that halved tariffs to 15% and boosted expectations of more agreements ahead of Trump’s August 1 deadline. Trump has also floated a potential “world tariff” of 15% to 20% for non-negotiating countries.
Key negotiations between the US and China entered their second day in Stockholm as the world’s two leading economies aim to resolve their trade conflict and possibly produce a 90-day extension to the tariff truce brokered in May.
Meanwhile, India prepared for higher US tariffs — potentially as high as 25% — on some exports as it opts to hold the line on new trade concessions ahead of Washington’s deadline, according to two Indian government sources.
The International Monetary Fund was examining the details of the trade agreements the United States has struck in recent days to assess their economic impact.
Earnings from tech heavyweights Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are scheduled later this week and could potentially steer Wall Street in the following days.
“For the Mag 7 names, it’s going to be all about that CapEx spend - that AI spend continuing to be pretty robust... the market’s going to take a lot of direction from that,” said Jack Janasiewicz, lead portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers.
The US central bank is set to begin its two-day policy meeting later in the day. While the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday, traders will closely analyze policymakers’ remarks to gauge the timing of future moves.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in about a 61.6% chance of a rate cut in September.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.08-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.09-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 31 new 52-week highs and nine new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 67 new highs and 56 new lows.
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