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The U.S. stock market saw a slight dip on Tuesday, with major indexes reacting to setbacks in tech and fresh concerns about tariffs and interest rates.
By mid-morning, the Dow Jones was up slightly, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.1% and the NASDAQ fell 0.5%, mainly dragged down by tech stocks — particularly chipmakers.
AI project delay hurts chip stocks
The drop in chip stocks came after a report from The Wall Street Journal revealed that a big AI project called Stargate, which was backed by SoftBank and OpenAI, is being scaled back. Originally intended as a $500 billion investment to supercharge the U.S.’s AI power, the project is now reportedly shrinking to just one smaller data center.
This news hit companies like NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, and others hard, cooling excitement around the U.S.’s AI growth potential.
Earnings season heats up
Despite the tech dip, earnings season is gaining momentum. About 12% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported so far, with 86% beating profit expectations and 67% reporting better-than-expected sales. This positive momentum recently pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs, but gains have now slowed.
Coca-Cola’s stock dipped nearly 1% despite reporting strong quarterly profits, as new tariffs hurt its global business.
General Motors shares fell, too, after a drop in North American earnings.
On the brighter side, Northrop Grumman rose thanks to strong demand for defence equipment, and D.R. Horton, a homebuilder, surged after smashing earnings expectations with over 23,000 homes sold last quarter.
More big names to watch
Investors are eagerly awaiting reports this week from major companies like Tesla and Alphabet, the first of the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants to report this quarter. These earnings could give better insight into how companies are handling Trump’s new tariffs.
Tariff worries + rate uncertainty
Former President Trump’s aggressive trade moves, including tariffs of 20% to 50% on several imports, plus new duties on copper and pharma products, are making markets nervous.
The fear is that these tariffs could push inflation higher, which in turn would give the Federal Reserve less room to lower interest rates. The Fed is expected to keep rates steady at next week’s meeting, but Trump’s pressure on the central bank and the inflation threat are creating uncertainty.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak later today, but since the Fed is in a quiet period before its meeting, it’s unclear if he’ll touch on policy matters.
The market is slightly off its highs today, thanks to stumbles in chip stocks and renewed economic worries. As earnings reports keep rolling in and political factors like tariffs loom large, investors are bracing for more twists in the days ahead.