Stocks ended lower on Tuesday as major indices swung from their rally in the previous session, with the Nasdaq being the worst performer as slumping tech stocks pressured the index. Vaccine optimism and easing U.S. Treasury yields benefitted Monday's session, but investors still fear that yields will trend higher this year as the economy reopens and the addition of more fiscal stimulus, which could lead to inflation.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield declined below 1.41% on Tuesday, with the benchmark rate appearing to stabilize after rising to a high of 1.6% last week.
Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.81% or -31.46 points to 3,870.36
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.46% or -145.04 points to 31,390.47
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -1.69% or -230.04 points to 13,358.79
For Stocks, Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) popped over 71% for its third straight session of gain as the heavily shorted stock was popularized by retail investors on social media platforms like Reddit. Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) shares rose after the retailer announced that it brought in two million new customers, majority younger generations, last year due to its partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).
For Sector Performance, most sectors on the S&P 500 swung lower on Tuesday, with only Materials (NYSE: XLB) closing in positive territory. Information Technology (NYSE: XLK) led declines, with Consumer Discretionary (NYSE: XLY), Real Estate (NYSE: XLRE) and Communication Services (NYSE: XLC) rounding out the bottom four.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) dipped lower on Tuesday as investors preferred riskier currencies as sentiment improved. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six rival global currencies, slipped 0.31% to 90.731. Gold (NYSE: GLD) prices rose on the falling dollar and U.S. Treasury yields, which increased demand for the safe haven bullion. Spot gold increased 0.8% at $1,737.62 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures settled 0.7% higher at $1,734.40 per ounce. Crude oil futures slid on Tuesday ahead of this week's OPEC+ where producers are expects to ease supply restrictions. International benchmark Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) dropped 1.55% to $62.70 per barrel, while domestic index West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) settled down at $59.75 each.
For Wednesday, market participants will turn their attention to fresh economic data for February, including the ADP's employment report.