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The S&P 500 pulled back as investors rotated out of technology stocks into shares more broadly linked to improvements in the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials staggered 117.46 points to 49,290.20.
The much broader index sagged 52.01 points to 6,942.32.
The NASDAQ stumbled 320.54 points, or 1.4%, to 23,281.57, with Nvidia, Microsoft and software shares declining.
In the health care sector, Merck posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates on strong demand for its cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and some of its other products. The pharmaceutical company was up 3.5%, making it the biggest gainer in the Dow.
PepsiCo earnings were also strong, fueled by improving organic sales across its business — a fact that pushed up shares about 4%. Elsewhere, Walmart surpassed a $1-trillion market capitalization threshold on Tuesday following a stock climb driven by its digital businesses growth and acquisition of new customers. The retail name was last up nearly 3% on Tuesday.
Bank stocks were also in the green. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo rose 2%, while Citigroup gained about 1%.
Shares of Palantir jumped 6% after the defense tech company gave strong fourth-quarter financial results and upbeat guidance.
But most technology shares were in the red. Nvidia and Microsoft shed 2% apiece with both AI bellwethers adding to their losses for the year.
Software stocks continued their 2026 tumble with shares like ServiceNow dipping 7% and Salesforce down 5%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped slightly Tuesday, raising yields to 4.29% from Monday’s 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 53 cents to $62.67 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $327.30 to $4,980.30 U.S. an ounce.
