Tech stock pressure
The fall was mainly because big tech stocks dropped. Nvidia fell more than 1%, Amazon fell 3%, and Microsoft fell 2%. Sam Stovall, CFRA chief investment strategist, said the S&P 500 could see an 8% or 9% decline. “It might even end up concluding sooner if we get the kind of earnings that our analyst is expecting for Nvidia, and if we get employment data that is weak but not pointing to recession,” he said.
Nvidia earnings worries
Nvidia has dropped 9% this month before its third-quarter results coming Wednesday after market close. Nvidia’s results matter a lot because there are growing worries about high tech valuations, AI fundamentals, and the boom in Big Tech debt offerings.
Stovall said, “If the top company within the top industry within the top sector says very optimistic things about the future while at the same time reporting better than expected earnings, revenues and profit margins, I think that would go a very long way to calming investor nerves”, as per the report by CNBC.
ALSO READ: Will NVDA stock crash or rally after earnings? Nvidia set for a record $320 billion move as options predict 7% swing
He added investors want to know when companies will make real money from all the new AI spending, saying “that’s something that’s not going to happen this quarter or next.”
Anthropic–microsoft–nvidia deal
Anthropic announced a $30 billion spending deal with Microsoft, and Microsoft and Nvidia will invest billions in Anthropic, but this big AI deal did not lift tech stocks like such deals usually do. Stovall said the market is “digesting gains” and investors now question the overall environment.ALSO READ:Anthropic AI deal explained: Microsoft & Nvidia’s bet on Claude, diversifying beyond OpenAI – here’s the investment breakdown
Bitcoin drop
Bitcoin fell below $90,000 before recovering to just above $91,000 later. Because many tech investors also own crypto, the drop in bitcoin raised fears of more stock selling.
ALSO READ: Bitcoin price today surges near $94,000 after BTC USD crashed to a seven-month low of $90,000
Home depot earnings
Home Depot shares slipped after the company missed earnings and cut its full-year outlook.
ALSO READ: Home Depot shares drop as Q3 earnings miss expectations
Stocks that could move on nvidia’s results
Nvidia reports Wednesday. Analysts expect $1.25 earnings per share (up 54% from last year) and $55 billion revenue (up 57% year-over-year), according to LSEG consensus. If Nvidia reports strong numbers, its stock could rise, and highly linked stocks such as Palantir, TSMC, and Super Micro Computer could also climb.
Meta wins FTC antitrust case
Meta won an antitrust trial against the Federal Trade Commission. Judge James Boasberg, Washington D.C. court, said the FTC failed to prove Meta currently holds monopoly power. The case focused on Meta’s past acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, filed five years ago.
Boasberg wrote, “Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now.” He added, “The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so”, as stated by CNBC report.
S&P 500 — stocks at 52-week lows
18 S&P 500 stocks hit new 52-week lows on Tuesday. Solstice Advanced Materials was the only stock hitting all-time lows since its spin-off from Honeywell in October 2025. Other stocks hitting 52-week lows included:
- Trade Desk (lowest since Nov 2022)
- Clorox (lowest since Dec 2014)
- Molina Healthcare (lowest since Apr 2020)
- Automatic Data Processing (lowest since July 2024)
- Carrier Global (lowest since Nov 2023)
- Old Dominion Freight Line (lowest since Nov 2022)
- Adobe (lowest since Mar 2023)
- GoDaddy (lowest since May 2024)
- Motorola Solutions (lowest since June 2024)
Stocks hitting new highs
Five S&P 500 stocks hit all-time highs and one hit a new 52-week high.
These names included:
- Eli Lilly (all-time high since first shares in 1952)
- Medtronic (highest since May 2022)
- Expeditors International (all-time high since IPO in 1984)
- Ventas (all-time high since 1998 spin-off)
- Welltower (all-time high since 1985 incorporation)
- American Electric Power (all-time highs going back to 1972)
Small caps buck the trend
Russell 2000 rose 0.8%, even while S&P 500 slipped 0.2%. But the Russell 2000 is still down more than 1% for the week after Monday’s fall.
Midday big movers
Klarna fell almost 10% after its first earnings report since IPO showed $83 million loss, compared to $13 million profit last year. Strategy jumped 7% as bitcoin recovered from earlier lows, as mentioned in the report by CNBC. Cloudflare fell nearly 3% after an outage affected big platforms including X and ChatGPT. Cogent Communications jumped 7% after its board reinstated a $100 million share buyback program.
FAQs
Q1. Why did US stocks fall on Tuesday?
US stocks fell mainly because tech shares dropped, Nvidia worried investors, and Bitcoin briefly fell below $90,000.
Q2. What caused the Dow to lose nearly 500 points?
The Dow dropped due to a tech sell-off, weak earnings from Home Depot, and overall investor caution in the market.
