Wall Street saw a mixed opening on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average modestly higher while the Nasdaq Composite retreated as pressure on technology shares offset gains in defensive and consumer stocks.
As of 9:59 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 57.59 points, or 0.12%, at 49,225.38. The S&P 500 slipped 33.41 points, or 0.47%, to 7,140.50, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 196.43 points, or 0.79%, according to Reuters.
Technology Sector Under Pressure
The sharpest drag came from technology stocks following a Wall Street Journal report that OpenAI had fallen short of internal targets for weekly users and revenue. The news raised fresh questions about the sustainability of the AI-driven market rally, given the massive spending on chips, cloud infrastructure, and data centers.
Because AI-linked companies have driven much of Wall Street's recent gains, any sign of slowing momentum quickly weighed on sentiment.
Oracle dropped 2.9% as investors reassessed growth expectations tied to cloud demand and AI partnerships. Semiconductor shares also came under pressure. Nvidia fell 2.4%, AMD declined 3.5%, and Arm Holdings slid 6.3%. CoreWeave, backed by Nvidia, lost 2%. The information technology segment of the S&P 500 fell 1.3%, making it the worst-performing major sector in early trade.
Geopolitical and Oil Concerns
Apart from AI concerns, investors remained cautious over the US-Iran conflict and continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global crude shipments. Oil prices remained elevated, with Brent crude moving above $110 a barrel for the first time in three weeks. Prices are now around 53% higher than levels seen before the conflict intensified.
A US official said President Donald Trump was dissatisfied with Iran's latest proposal to resolve the conflict, reducing hopes of a near-term diplomatic breakthrough. Higher oil prices are fuelling worries that inflationary pressures could return and squeeze corporate margins.
Adding another layer of uncertainty, the United Arab Emirates announced it would leave OPEC and OPEC+, a move that could alter future supply dynamics in the global crude market.
Corporate Results
Corporate results also shaped early moves on Wall Street. United Parcel Service fell 5.7% after reporting a steep drop in quarterly adjusted profit. General Motors lost 3% even after raising its full-year earnings outlook, supported by resilient demand in the US auto market and expected tariff refunds.
Coca-Cola rose 5.5% after lifting its annual adjusted profit forecast, helped by pricing power and stable demand.
Market Breadth
Declining shares outpaced gainers by 1.49-to-1 on the NYSE and 1.48-to-1 on the Nasdaq, reflecting broad weakness beneath the headline indices. The S&P 500 registered three fresh 52-week highs and six lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 47 new lows.
