NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were subdued in choppy trading on Tuesday, as support from communication services stocks was capped by declines in tech and financials, with the latter also weighing on the Dow.
Communication services shares were among the biggest gainers on the S&P 500, on the back of a 1.1 percent gain in Meta Platforms. The Instagram parent said on Monday it would acquire artificial intelligence startup Manus.
Information technology stocks were range-bound, with Apple and Nvidia edging lower, and Microsoft inching up.
These heavyweight stocks snapped a six-session winning streak - their longest since September - on Monday. The rally had also propelled the S&P 500 to a record high last week.
“The growth rates are going to converge between technology and everything else next year and the valuation gap is so wide, it absolutely is justified to see repositioning,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.
Losses in Goldman Sachs and American Express weighed on the Dow.
At 12:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 114.28 points, or 0.24 percent, to 48,345.84, the S&P 500 lost 5.83 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,899.58 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 16.20 points, or 0.07 percent, to 23,458.02.
The S&P 500 and the Dow are set for their eighth consecutive month of gains, their longest monthly winning streak since 2017. Some investors eye a “Santa Claus rally”, a seasonal phenomenon in which the S&P 500 typically posts gains over the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of January, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December 9-10 meeting will be scrutinized later in the day, after the central bank delivered an expected 25-basis-point cut, but took a cautious stance on further reductions.
However, mild economic data since then and expectations of a new dovish Fed chair have fueled optimism around further US interest rate cuts in 2026.
The S&P 500 has added about 17 percent so far this year, as the frenzy to capitalize on artificial intelligence helped the US benchmark edge ahead of Europe’s STOXX 600, despite investors diversifying away from US stocks earlier in the year dominated by trade disputes and an uncertain central bank outlook.
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