4:15pm: Nvidia event underwhelms
The Nasdaq led a broad market decline on Tuesday, as major US stock indexes retreated following two days of gains.
The tech-heavy index fell 1.7%, or 305 points, to close at 17,504. The sell-off was largely driven by weakness in technology stocks, with Nvidia shares dropping over 3% after the company's annual GTC event failed to meet investor expectations.
The S&P 500 index declined 1.1%, or 60 points, ending the session at 5,615. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.6%, or 260 points, to finish at 41,581.
The market pullback came as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which began on Tuesday. While no change in interest rates is expected, market participants will closely scrutinize Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting remarks on Wednesday for insights into the central bank's outlook on the economy and potential policy shifts.
The recent sell-off has trimmed gains for major stock indexes, though they remain in positive territory for the year. Through Monday's close, the Dow was down 4.6% for March, while the S&P 500 had shed 4.7% and the Nasdaq had given up 5.5%.
3:17pm: Nvidia event gets underway
Nvidia kicked off its GTC 2025 conference with a flurry of announcements, unveiling its latest AI hardware innovations, expanding its automotive partnerships, and setting ambitious revenue targets for the future.
The firm introduced the Blackwell Ultra, a successor to its Blackwell AI chip, touting a 1.5x performance increase and a 50x data center revenue opportunity compared to its Hopper chip.
Nvidia also provided a first look at its next-generation Vera Rubin AI superchip, which is expected to launch in late 2026.
In a major partnership announcement, General Motors (GM) will integrate Nvidia’s DRIVE AGX hardware into its future autonomous and driver-assistance systems.
Huang also announced that Nvidia’s next-generation AI chip, codenamed “Feynman,” will debut in 2028.
2:20pm: Tuesday's headlines
Alphabet has confirmed it will be acquiring Israeli cloud cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion in cash, marking its largest-ever acquisition.
Tesla shares slumped as a new threat to its dominance of the electric car market emerged from Chinese EV maker BYD, who unveiled a new line of electric vehicles capable of charging at speeds that could rival refuelling a petrol car.
Sarepta Therapeutics shares plunged more than 21% after it revealed a patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has died following treatment with its gene therapy ELEVIDYS.
Tencent Music Entertainment Group shares surged following fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations that reinforced its strategic focus on high-quality growth and artificial intelligence to enhance user engagement.
1:30pm: Good news for oil
Gold isn't the only commodity heading higher: crude oil prices continue to recover, rising more than 1.4% today across both Brent and West Texas Intermediate.
"Oil's gains come amid escalating geopolitical tensions on multiple fronts in the Middle East, potentially reviving concerns about the safety of supplies from the region," said Samer Hasn, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com.
"This could replenish the geopolitical risk premium for crude prices, which is supporting the price of oil against negative factors such as the mixed performance of the Chinese economy and the repercussions of the US-led trade war, in addition to the anticipated influx of more supplies to the market from OPEC next month."
Oil prices eased slightly by Tuesday afternoon.
12:41pm: Nasdaq leads the losses
The Nasdaq is leading the stock market downturn at the midday point Tuesday, falling 1.5%.
The S&P 500 is down 1%, continuing its recent correction after briefly recovering in the previous two sessions.
The Dow Jones has slipped 0.8%, giving up some of its gains from the previous day when it had risen by over 350 points. The index is struggling to maintain momentum in the face of broader market declines.
11:38am: Gold soars again
Gold prices hit a record high on Tuesday as weak US retail sales and economic slowdown fears boosted safe-haven demand.
Concerns over President Trump's protectionist policies also weighed on global growth projections, noted Ruben Ferreira, Head of Portuguese Operations at FlowCommunity.
"This fragile outlook has heightened anticipation ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting," Ferreira commented.
"While rates are expected to remain unchanged, investors will scrutinize the central bank’s updated projections and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks for clues on future policy moves. A dovish stance could reinforce gold’s appeal, whereas a more hawkish outlook may lift US yields, capping further gains."
10.55am: Housing starts rebound in February
Housing starts jumped 11.2% in February, rebounding from an 11.5% decline in January.
"Although starts increased across the board, permits did not paint as strong of a picture," Wells Fargo commented.
"Single-family permits were essentially unchanged for the second straight month coinciding with weakening builder confidence amid increased economic and policy uncertainty," they wrote.
"Multifamily permits also decreased in March. That said, the pace of new multifamily permits is essentially moving sideways, which is an improvement over the sharp pullback in multifamily construction over the last couple of years."
9.51am: Nasdaq ebbs as Tesla and Nvidia retreat further
US stocks got a paddlin' at Tuesday's open, with the Nasdaq the worst hit as Tesla leads a further slide for the US tech giants.
The Nasdaq Composite index opened 1.7% lower, with the S&P 500 down 1% and the Dow Jones falling 0.6%.
Tesla fell 5.7% and Nvidia dropped 2.6%, while Amazon and Meta Platforms were both down more than 2%.
8.47am: Dollar boosted by hot housing starts
The dollar has bounced back little following the release of some US data, but stock futures remain in red.
US housing starts grew 11.2% month-on-month in February, much higher than the 1.4% expected after a decline of 9.8% in January, with the previous month also revised down to a decline of 11.5%.
US building permits continued to decline, down 1.2%, following a 0.6% in January, though this is not as much as the 1.4% consensus estimate.
The DXY dollar index has risen 0.3%.
8am: Nasdaq to lead decline on Tuesday, say futures
US stocks are predicted to open lower on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting begins and investors await the results of a phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin over a potential deal between Russia and Ukraine.
After a mostly positive start to the week, futures were pointing to the S&P 500 losing 0.2%, with Dow Jones futures down 0.15% and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.4%.
This follows a session where the Nasdaq gains lagged due to a 1% decline for the 'Magnificient 7' tech giants, led by a near-5% fall for Tesla and 1.8% drop for Nvidia, whose boss Jensen Huang gives a big presentation later today.
Commodities were making waves before the US open, with gold and oil prices notably moving higher.
The price of gold has just broken above $3,030, up around $40 dollars over the past 24 hours, while WTI crude oil is up 1.2% to $68.439, around a two week high.
Recent strength in oil being credited to escalating Middle East tensions, including a resumption of Israli strikes on Gaza, and reported demands by President Putin on any ceasefire deal in Ukraine.
Economic data today includes housing starts, where a rise of 1.4% is expected in a big turnaround from the previous month’s decline of 9.8%, while building permits are expected to be down 1.4% after a 0.6% fall last time.