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US stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as the S&P 500 and NASDAQ eased from record highs. Investors weighed fresh Middle East developments, AI spending plans, and sharp moves across major technology names. Meanwhile, Hewlett Packard Enterprise led the session’s strongest gains after raising its outlook on AI server demand.
S&P 500 slipped 0.14% to 7,589.32 in early trading, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.34% to 26,995.62. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.22% to 51,190.69, supported by gains outside the largest technology names.
Both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed at record levels on Monday after eight straight winning sessions. However, Tuesday’s trading showed a more cautious tone as investors assessed whether the recent rally can keep its pace.
Market breadth remained fairly balanced. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners on both the NYSE and NASDAQ. Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors traded higher, with utilities leading the gains.
Alphabet dropped nearly 4.5% after the Google parent said it plans to raise $80 billion through equity offerings. The company said the funds would support a costly expansion of AI infrastructure, including data centers and computing capacity.
The plan includes an investment from Berkshire Hathaway, which added attention to the deal. Still, Alphabet’s stock decline weighed on the communication services sector, which fell almost 3% during early trading.
Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge raised doubts over the move. “If the greatest business model in the history of capitalism can’t fund AI from its own internal operations, then who possibly can?” he said, according to the market update.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise surged about 26% after the company pulled forward its long-term financial targets by two years. The move followed strong quarterly results and stronger demand for AI servers.
Peer Super Micro Computer gained 5.6%, while Microchip Technology advanced 6% after giving an upbeat data center revenue forecast. These moves showed that investors still favor selected hardware names tied to AI infrastructure.
Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, said the latest results support the wider AI spending trend. “It confirms the insatiable demand that we’re seeing really across the board for AI,” he said. He added that “every day it seems like a different company” reports strong signs around the AI cycle.
Marvell Technology jumped more than 22% after NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang called the chipmaker the next ‘trillion dollar company’ at the Computex conference in Taipei. NVIDIA invested $2 billion in Marvell in March.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index rose 3% as chip stocks outperformed the wider market. NVIDIA also traded higher, although declines in Microsoft and Amazon limited gains in the broader technology sector.
Software stocks moved in the other direction after a strong rebound. ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Intuit fell between 4.8% and 8.6%, while the software group pulled back after gaining 14% over the previous three sessions.
Markets also tracked developments in the Middle East. Hopes for progress between the US and Iran supported sentiment earlier, while fresh flare-ups kept traders alert. Lebanon announced a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday.
President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were moving ‘at a rapid pace.’ However, analysts still pointed to doubt around the talks, with one economist saying events looked like ‘two or three steps forward and one step back.’
Oil prices remained a key focus as any prolonged conflict could add pressure to inflation. Meanwhile, investors watched for comments from Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack for more guidance on interest rates, as money markets priced out 2026 rate cuts and raised the odds of a later hike.
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