4:10pm: Palantir Slides Further
Stocks finished mixed on Tuesday as tech names bore the brunt of selling pressure, while the Dow eked out a tiny gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed essentially flat at 44,922, up just 10 points, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.6% to 6,411. The Nasdaq led the declines, dropping 1.5% to 21,315, and the Russell 2000 fell 0.9% to 2,274.
Tech and defense heavyweight Palantir (PLTR) was among the biggest losers, sliding more than 15% in the afternoon to mark its fifth straight day of declines—the longest losing streak since March. The sell-off comes as investors continue to rotate away from AI-driven tech names, which had been among the market’s top performers this year.
Meanwhile, in the broader AI space, OpenAI is reportedly in talks to sell $6 billion in employee-owned shares, valuing the company at roughly $500 billion. That would make it the world’s most valuable private company, up sharply from a $157 billion valuation last October. SoftBank and Thrive are said to be the expected buyers, according to the New York Times.
Looking ahead, retail investors will be watching closely as Target (TGT) reports earnings on Wednesday, followed by Walmart (WMT) on Thursday—two key indicators for the health of the consumer ahead of the back-to-school season.
3:40pm: Proactive news headlines
- HIVE Digital Technologies (TSX-V:HIVE, NASDAQ:HIVE): Subsidiary BUZZ HPC entered a preferred partnership with Bell Canada to deliver sovereign AI infrastructure using NVIDIA GPU clusters.
- American Resources Corp (NASDAQ:AREC): ReElement Technologies signed a long-term deal to supply high-purity rare earth oxides to Vulcan Elements, supporting U.S. magnet manufacturing.
- Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NYSE-A:OPTT): Launched an upgraded version of its Merrows MDAS, improving ISR performance, stability, and cross-domain collaboration.
- 374Water Inc (NASDAQ:SCWO): Reported successful removal of toxic PFAS from landfill wastewater using its AirSCWO system, with treated effluent showing non-detectable levels.
- Canagold Resources Ltd (TSX:CCM, OTCQB:CRCUF): Raised C$4 million through a private placement to advance its New Polaris gold project in British Columbia.
2:35pm: Stocks on the move
- Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, ETR:INL): Shares climbed 10% after SoftBank invested $2 billion and reports emerged that the Trump administration may take a larger equity stake.
- Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX): Shares plunged 43% after Phase 2a trial results showed strong weight-loss efficacy for VK-2735 but raised concerns about tolerability.
- Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD): The company is developing a China-specific AI chip, the B30A, reportedly more powerful than the H20 and designed to comply with U.S. export rules.
- HIVE Digital Technologies (TSX-V:HIVE, NASDAQ:HIVE): Its subsidiary BUZZ HPC struck a preferred partnership with Bell Canada to deliver sovereign AI infrastructure powered by NVIDIA GPU clusters.
- American Resources Corp (NASDAQ:AREC): Its ReElement unit signed a long-term supply deal with Vulcan Elements to provide high-purity rare earth oxides for U.S. magnet production.
- Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD, ETR:HDI): Shares rose after the retailer reaffirmed full-year guidance despite missing revenue and earnings expectations in Q2.
1:55pm: No September cut signal
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to strike a cautious tone at Jackson Hole on Friday, Deutsche Bank analysts wrote, signaling openness to near-term rate cuts but stopping short of committing to one in September.
Analysts noted that while Powell will likely frame his remarks around the labor market, "our sense from Fed speakers so far is that there is not yet broad-based support for such an action."
They added that Powell has little incentive to push markets further toward pricing in a September cut, given expectations are already elevated.
1:15pm: Nasdaq drops
The Nasdaq fell about 1.3% on Tuesday afternoon as a selloff in large-cap technology stocks weighed on Wall Street.
Nvidia dropped 2%, Palantir slid nearly 6%, while AMD and Netflix each lost more than 3%.
Despite the tech slump, broader market rotation was evident, with eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors trading higher, led by real estate, consumer staples and healthcare.
Nearly 400 stocks in the index advanced, though the S&P 500 still slipped around 0.4%.
12:05pm: Intel: growth questions remain
Wedbush analysts highlighted that recent moves by the U.S. government and SoftBank underscore both Intel’s strategic value and the limitations facing its growth.
SoftBank is investing $2 billion in Intel, while the U.S. may convert some or all of Intel’s $10.9 billion in CHIPS Act grants into a 10% equity stake.
Wedbush noted, “a direct US stake (and explicit control) would seemingly further inhibit Intel's ability to maximize shareholder (v.s. patriotic) value with shareholders getting a particularly raw deal.”
The analysts said these developments leave more questions than answers and kept their view on Intel’s stock neutral.
11:15am: Home Depot forecasts growth
Home Depot shares rose after the company reaffirmed its 2025 guidance despite Q2 results slightly missing expectations.
Revenue grew 4.9% to $45.28 billion, just below estimates, while comparable store sales rose 1% (U.S. sales +1.4%), also slightly under forecasts.
EPS came in at $4.68, up from $4.67 a year ago but below the $4.71 expected.
For 2025, Home Depot expects 2.8% sales growth, 1% comparable sales growth, and a 2% decline in adjusted EPS from $15.24.
10:35am: Housing starts rise
US housing starts unexpectedly rose in July, but building permits fell to the lowest level in five years.
Housing starts increased 5.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units, above expectations for 1.30 million.
Building permits, a key gauge of future construction, dropped 2.8% to 1.35 million, missing forecasts for 1.39 million.
“Building permits declined for six of the last seven months as builders remain cautious on the residential outlook,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We expect residential investment to drag on third-quarter GDP growth.”
Permits fell to their lowest level since mid-2019 outside the pandemic period. Starts rose for both single- and multi-family projects, buoyed by hopes that mortgage rates could ease later this year. Multi-family starts grew much faster than single-family projects in recent months.
Roach noted that the lack of affordable housing remains a pressing issue and multi-family construction could help ease supply constraints.
9:55am: Intel, Home Depot gains
Wall Street opened on a mixed note Tuesday, with the Dow riding higher while the Nasdaq stumbled under pressure from tech.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140 points, or 0.3%, to 45,051, helped along by strength in Home Depot and Intel. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 6,442, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.6% to 21,508. The Russell 2000 was flat at 2,295.
Home Depot kicked off a big week for retail earnings, rising 4.5% after reporting second-quarter sales growth and reaffirming its full-year outlook. Profit came in a bit light, but investors cheered its resilience even as the company said tariffs will bring modest price increases.
Intel was another standout, soaring more than 10% at the open after SoftBank disclosed a $2 billion stake in the chipmaker, which is in the middle of a turnaround push. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent also weighed in, saying any U.S. investment in Intel would come through a conversion of grants rather than an attempt to run the business. “The last thing we’re going to do is take a stake and try to run the business,” she said in a CNBC interview, adding that the goal is to avoid a “single point of failure” in the semiconductor sector.
Geopolitical headlines were also in the mix, with Bessent noting she believes a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could take place.
8:15am: Eye on geopolitics
Wall Street looks set for a quiet open on Tuesday, with futures barely budging as investors digest the first big retail earnings of the week and keep one eye on geopolitics.
Dow futures inched up about 0.1%, while contracts tied to the S&P 500 hovered just below flat. Nasdaq 100 futures were also little changed, extending the muted start to the week for U.S. stocks.
The spotlight this morning is on Home Depot, which kicked off retail earnings season. The home improvement giant reported a slight miss on quarterly profit but managed to grow sales as signs emerge that the housing market slump may be easing. Shares slipped on the release but pared back losses as investors took a closer look at the numbers.
Tech is providing some of the brighter spots in premarket trading. Palo Alto Networks jumped 5% after projecting stronger-than-expected revenue and profit for 2026, thanks to rising demand for its AI-driven cybersecurity tools. Intel was another standout, rallying more than 6% after SoftBank pledged a $2 billion capital injection to support the chipmaker’s turnaround.
On the geopolitical front, oil prices remain volatile. Crude is back under pressure, trading below $63 a barrel, as optimism grows that peace talks between Ukraine and Russia may be gaining traction following high-profile meetings in Washington.
The economic calendar brings July housing starts and building permits, fresh data that could add more color to the state of the housing market and the Fed’s rate-cut calculus.