- U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq closing at a record high while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell.
- Nvidia surged, but the broader market weakened due to a new spike in Treasury yields.
- Weak demand at the latest Treasury auction and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials spooked investors.
U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq hitting a record high while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points.
The Nasdaq was lifted by gains from Nvidia, which rose more than 7%. Weakening stocks during the trading session was a spike in Treasury yields after the latest auction was hit by weak demand. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 7 basis points before paring some of its gains but staying firmly above the key 4.5% threshold as trading closed.
Weakening investors were hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials, with Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari reiterating that the central bank isn’t convinced inflation is falling fast enough to justify a rate cut, and said it’s open to further rate hikes if progress stalls.
“I don’t think anybody has formally backed away from this, myself included,” he said during Tuesday’s presentation. “Of course, if the data surprises us, we will do what is necessary.”
Investors are focused on Friday’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, which will give key insight into when the central bank might cut interest rates.
Nvidia closed at a new record high above $1,100 in trading on Tuesday after Elon Musk said his artificial intelligence company xAI will use Nvidia chips in its computers.
U.S. stock indexes as of the close of trading at 4 p.m. on Tuesday were as follows:
What else is happening today:
Commodities, Bonds and Cryptocurrencies:
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3% to $80.19 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent crude rose 1.6% to $84.48 a barrel.
- Gold rose 1% to $2,358.30 an ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 6 basis points to 4.54%.
- Bitcoin fell 2% to $68,117.27.
