Tech stocks drag on Nasdaq as investors monitor corporate profits, US tariff talks

The Nasdaq was pressured by falling megacap stocks on Tuesday, a day before major tech results are due, while investors assessed a spate of second-quarter corporate earnings and watched for signs of progress in U.S. trade discussions.

At 11:25 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.78 points, or 0.11%, to 44,372.37, the S&P 500 lost 6.56 points, or 0.10%, to 6,298.48 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 100.59 points, or 0.48%, to 20,874.05.

Heavyweight tech names were the biggest losers. Amazon fell 1%, Meta Platforms shed 1.1%, Nvidia was down 1.6% and Broadcom lost 2.3%.


The S&P's technology sector led sectoral losses and dropped 0.9%, cooling from a record high in the previous session.

"Traders are just trying to position a little... because it's (technology) had such a big run. Some might be hedging a little bit before the earnings," said Max Wasserman, senior portfolio manager at Miramar Capital.

Some underwhelming corporate results also dimmed sentiment. General Motors saw its second-quarter profit skid 32% to $3 billion, with the automaker blaming hefty tariff costs for carving out $1.1 billion from its results. Its shares lost 6.9%, while peer Ford dipped 1%.

Tariff actions also weighed on RTX and the defense company slashed its 2025 profit outlook, sending its shares down 2.2%.

Lockheed Martin did not fare much better — its second-quarter profit nosedived nearly 80% after booking a hefty $1.6 billion in pre-tax losses.

The ever-evolving nature of tariff headlines also had investors on edge as the August 1 deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for most countries approaches.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to meet his Chinese counterpart next week, potentially discussing an extension to the August 12 deadline set for tariffs on imports from China.

Meanwhile, trade negotiations stalled, with optimism for a breakthrough deal with India waning, according to Indian government officials, and as the EU weighed new countermeasures against the United States.

Focus will shift to results for Google-parent Alphabet and EV-maker Tesla as they kick off quarterly earnings for the "Magnificent Seven" stocks on Wednesday.

Alphabet's shares dipped 0.4%, while Tesla edged up 0.5%. Elevated earnings expectations for these stocks are already priced to justify their stretched valuations, leaving little room for disappointment.

"Unless you get real bad news or something that indicates a slowdown in the rate of growth, you could see a selloff," Wasserman said.

The healthcare sector jumped 1.2% to lead sectoral gains after declining for the last three sessions.

Meanwhile, Philip Morris fell 8.2% after reporting second-quarter revenue below expectations.

Of the 89 S&P 500 companies that have reported second-quarter earnings so far, 78.7% surpassed analyst expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG.

After last week's mixed economic data, traders have all but ruled out an interest-rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve next week. They now see about a 60% chance of a reduction in September, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.17-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.51-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 36 new lows.