U.S. stocks dip amid soft consumer confidence data, pre-Nvidia earnings caution
U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday, as investors assessed a weaker-than-anticipated reading on consumer confidence and took some caution ahead of crucial quarterly results from Nvidia later this week, News.Az reports citing Investing.
By 10:22 ET (15:22 GMT), the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped by 101 points or 0.2%, the benchmark S&P 500 had slipped by 54 points or 0.9%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had fallen by 327 points to 1.7%.
U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated for a third straight month in February, according to a survey from The Conference Board, in the latest sign that American households are fretting over the effect tariffs and inflation could have on the path ahead for the wider economy.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 98.3 this month, down from an upwardly-revised mark of 105.3 in January. It was the biggest monthly decline since August 2021. Economists had predicted a reading of 102.7.
Meanwhile, traders are continuing to weigh the relative merits of heavy artificial intelligence spending by mega-cap tech companies heading into Nvidia's all-important earnings on Wednesday.
Sentiment was also impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump's statement on Monday that 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would be "going forward" after they were previously delayed until March. Markets are gauging the implications of recently soft economic data and persistent uncertainty around U.S. political developments as well.
Risk appetite was hit by a Bloomberg News report that the White House was seeking to toughen Biden-era controls on semiconductor technology exports to China -- especially chips from Nvidia. This came after Trump over the weekend called for more scrutiny on Chinese investments in key U.S. sectors, threatening to ratchet up tensions with Beijing. Shares in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and peer Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) were both lower in early U.S. trading following the report.
In individual stocks, Hims & Hers (NYSE:HIMS) warned that it may stop selling legal copies of a popular weight-loss drug made by Denmark's Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO), sending shares in the U.S. telehealth firm down by more than 21%.
Zoom Communications' (NASDAQ:ZM) stock price also fell after the video conferencing group unveiled first-quarter and full-year revenue guidance that missed analysts' estimates.
Elsewhere, gold prices ticked lower, but remained close to recent peaks as safe-haven demand was partly underpinned by concerns over U.S. tariffs. The yellow metal had risen in overnight trade, touching a new record high, after Trump signaled his intention to go ahead with the levies on Canada and Mexico.
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