A trader works during the closing bell, on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 19, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Stocks slipped on Tuesday as the big tech-led rally lost steam and the S&P 500 ended a six-day winning run.
The S&P 500 fell 0.39% to end at 5,940.46, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.38% and closed at 19,142.71. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 114.83 points, or 0.27%, finishing at 42,677.24.
Investors dumped tech stocks, which had led the run over the past six days. The sector lost 0.5%. Nvidia slid 0.9%. Advanced Micro Devices, Meta Platforms, Apple and Microsoft also dropped.
The broad market index snapped its six-day win streak, its longest since a nine-day run that ended earlier this month. While Monday’s gains were marginal, they did add to what has been a rapid and sharp rebound for stocks over the past five weeks.
The S&P 500 has rallied more than 20% since hitting an April low on the back of President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement. It now is about 3% from its record high.
“I would say that the largest consideration is the fact that we’ve had the swoon related to the introduction of tariffs, the furious rally associated with the de-escalation of those tariff implementations, and now we’re awaiting clarification as many of these negotiations are ongoing,” Bill Northey, investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, told CNBC in an interview.
Northey added that investors are stuck in a state of “optimism without clarity.”
Tesla shares rose after CEO Elon Musk voiced his commitment to leading the electric vehicle maker for the next five years. “Yes, no doubt about that at all,” Musk said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. The electric vehicle stock posted a 0.5% gain for the day.
On Tuesday, President Trump was unable to sway key House Republicans to drop their oppositions to a major tax bill over a cap on deductions for state and local taxes. This opposition threatens to derail the tax legislation, which Trump was hoping to see passed before the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
