Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., August 19, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stocks pulled back in early afternoon trading Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average earlier rose to a record high thanks to strong gains in Home Depot. A broad decline in technology stocks put pressure on the broader market.
The 30-stock average added 16 points, or less than 0.1%. The Nasdaq, however, shed 1.3%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.5%.
Shares of megacap tech and big-name chipmakers declined during the session. Nvidia shares lost about 3%, while Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom slipped more than 5% and 4%, respectively. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF shed 1%. Other major tech-related names such as Tesla, Meta Platforms and Netflix were also under pressure.
“The overwhelming bullish sentiment really is in the AI trade. It’s in the mega-cap names, and that’s what’s unwinding right now … for today,” Joe Terranova, senior managing director and the chief market strategist for Virtus Investment Partners, said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.”
“If we’re going to get a little bit of a crack in momentum, I think you’re going to have instability in the market … and it could be a multi-day process of correcting a lot of these names,” Terranova said, pointing to Palantir’s recent string of losses after the stock saw monster gains this year. Shares of the software company dropped nearly 9% on Tuesday, making it the day’s worst performer in the S&P 500.
Stock Chart IconStock chart icon
Nasdaq intraday chart
Home Depot shares rose 3.7%, driving the price-weighted Dow, after the home improvement giant maintained its full-year outlook. To be sure, its second-quarter earnings came in below expectations. Investors await earnings from Lowe’s, Walmart and Target set to release later this week for insight on how the consumer is faring amid a mixed inflation outlook and evolving U.S. trade policy.
Wall Street is also looking for clues from Powell as to what will happen at the central bank’s remaining policy meetings this year. Central bank officials from around the globe will convene this week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the Fed’s annual economic symposium.
The fed funds futures market is indicating an 83% chance for a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s next policy meeting in September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
“Friday’s Jackson Hole speech is likely an inflection point for markets as we believe Jerome Powell will signal that rate cuts are likely at the upcoming September meeting,” said Stephen Schwartz, founding partner of wealth management firm Pioneer Financial. “Valuations may even have more room to expand as we move into the back half of 2025 as investors will at that time start to price-in at 2026 earnings, which are expected to improve thanks to the potential for lower interest rates and improved tariff policy clarity.”
Tuesday’s moves come after a mostly quiet session. The S&P 500 closed less than 1 point lower Monday, sitting inches below a record high reached last week.