• U.S. equities slipped off record territory, dragged down by declines in AI-related stocks ahead of a wave of Big Tech earnings.
• In after-hours moves, Visa, Starbucks, Seagate and NXP all saw gains following their reports or guidance.
• Oil prices and the upcoming Fed rate call stand out as the key concerns heading into Wednesday.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, led by steeper losses in the Nasdaq, as investors pulled back from artificial intelligence-related names ahead of earnings from major tech players. After hours, action narrowed to a handful of earnings-driven moves: payment firms, coffee stocks, and chipmakers all posted notable swings once regular trading wrapped up.
AI-driven gains have been in the spotlight, making this move significant. Fresh skepticism surfaced after The Wall Street Journal’s report—picked up by Reuters—on OpenAI’s user and revenue ambitions. The question: can cloud and chip demand continue to support such heavy capex, the billions sunk into data centers and long-lived tech? Horizon Investment Services CEO Chuck Carlson summed it up: OpenAI’s numbers “gave investors more food for thought.” Reuters
There’s a macro angle to the week, too. The Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day meeting, with traders eyeing whether pricier oil could stoke inflation as rate decisions loom. Oil moved higher Tuesday; Reuters’ Trading Day highlighted WTI clearing $100 a barrel and Brent topping $110—levels that threaten to push fuel costs up and muddy the Fed’s calculus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 25.86 points, or 0.05%, closing at 49,141.93. The S&P 500 shed 35.11 points (down 0.49%) to finish at 7,138.80. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 223.30 points, or 0.90%, settling at 24,663.80. Tech stocks took the hardest hit among S&P 500 sectors, while energy emerged as the top performer.
AI and semiconductor stocks took the brunt of the selling. Shares of Oracle dropped 4.1%. Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom each shed anywhere from 1.6% to 4.4%. CoreWeave, a company with ties to AI infrastructure and Nvidia backing, was down 5.8%.
In after-hours trade, major ETFs edged up instead of taking a hit. According to Investing.com, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF rose 0.06%, the Invesco QQQ Trust gained 0.19%, and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF ticked 0.14% higher as late-session volumes thinned—typical for a period that often moves on earnings.
Visa shares climbed after hours as the firm reported earnings that surpassed analyst expectations. Payment volume was up 9% for the second quarter, a sign consumers kept spending, CEO Ryan McInerney said, adding that “consumer spending remained resilient.” American Express posted better-than-expected profits last week. Mastercard is set to announce results later this week. Reuters
Starbucks jumped roughly 5% after hiking its yearly outlook and posting stronger-than-expected sales and earnings for the quarter. “The shine is back,” CEO Brian Niccol said to investors. Global same-store sales increased 6.2%, beating the 3.7% analysts had penciled in. Reuters
Chip and storage names traded on a different track after hours, diverging from the earlier AI-driven slump. Seagate jumped, with shares rallying as its fourth-quarter revenue and profit outlook beat Wall Street estimates—AI-fueled demand for storage hardware gave results a lift. Western Digital, SanDisk, and Micron moved higher as well.
NXP Semiconductors shares surged after the company forecast second-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings ahead of analysts’ projections. Management highlighted improving demand for automotive and industrial chips. Reuters also noted Texas Instruments put out an upbeat outlook last week, lifted by strength in data center and industrial sectors.
Robinhood headed lower. The online brokerage dropped over 8% in after-hours trading as first-quarter earnings came up short; transaction revenue slipped, with softer take rates in both options and crypto. “Prove-it story,” said David Bartosiak, stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research. Reuters
There’s a risk that Wednesday won’t deliver clarity for either the bulls or the bears. Weak AI returns from Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms or Microsoft, and the selloff in Nvidia, Oracle, and CoreWeave could easily spread. Persistent high oil prices could box in the Fed on rates. “The question is whether energy inflation could have a very much longer-term impact,” said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors. Reuters
The latest data painted a mixed picture. U.S. consumer confidence ticked higher in April, hitting the strongest level in four months, according to the Conference Board. Gasoline prices, though, remained a sticking point in the survey. Oren Klachkin, economist at Nationwide Financial, flagged that a resilient job market won’t do much to shield consumers from elevated energy bills.
