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U.S. stocks were lower on Tuesday, with investors weighing the latest developments on the trade front to kick off a seasonally poor month for equities. Rising yields also worried investors.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered from their lows of the day, but still staggered 249.07 points to close at 45,295.81.
The S&P 500 sank 44.72 points to 6,415.54
The NASDAQ dropped 175.92 points to 21,279.63. That marks the first back-to-back 1% decline for the tech-heavy index since President Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariff policy on so-called “liberation day” in early April.
Investors took profits on bull market winners with the unofficial end of the summer season. Nvidia shares, for example, were off by 2%, while other Big Tech names like Amazon and Apple were each down 1%.
Bond investors were driving yields higher on the prospect that the U.S. may have to refund the billions brought in from tariff revenue, worsening the country’s already-stressed fiscal situation.
Those developments could weigh on sentiment to start a new trading month. September is historically the worst month for equities, with the S&P 500 averaging a 4.2% drop over the last five years, and falling more than 2% on average over the last 10.
The moves come after a federal appeals court on Friday ruled that most of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs are illegal. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined in a 7-4 ruling that only Congress has the authority to apply sweeping levies.
Trump called the decision “Highly partisan” and has said that he will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Prices for 10-year Treasury capsized Tuesday, lifting yields to 4.27% from Friday’s 4.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices popped $1.60 to $65.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $80.50 at $3,596.60 U.S. an ounce.
