Markets News, February 25, 2025: S&P 500, Nasdaq Fall for 4th Straight Day as Tesla Leads Tech Slump; Walmart, Home Depot Boost Dow

Major U.S. stock indexes stumbled again Tuesday as shares of Tesla and other major technology companies fell sharply, while bitcoin plunged to a three-month low and Treasury yields dropped amid mounting concerns about the outlook for the economy.

The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.5% and 1.4%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, led by gains for retail giants Walmart and Home Depot. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have now closed lower in four consecutive sessions, while the Dow has eked out gains two days in a row after posting its worst weekly performance since October last week.

The major indexes, which were near record highs a week ago, have retreated in recent sessions amid investor concerns about the economic outlook and uncertainty about the potential impact of policies coming out of the White House. Weaker-than-expected consumer confidence data released this morning added to the negative sentiment.

Shares of major technology companies, which led the decline on Monday, were mostly lower again today. EV maker Tesla (TSLA) fell more than 8% following news that its sales in the E.U. fell sharply last month. AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), which is due to report quarterly results after the closing bell tomorrow, dropped nearly 3%, while Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) also lost ground. Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) each finished near unchanged.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares plunged 12% ahead of a deadline today for the server maker to file delayed 2024 financial reports required by Nasdaq. (The stock soared in extended trading after Supermicro narrowly met the filing deadline.) Palantir (PLTR) shares, which have lost more than a quarter of their value in the past week amid concerns the analytics software company could be affected by reduced Defense Department spending, slid 3%.

Shares of Home Depot (HD) rose nearly 3% after the home improvement retailer reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates but issued a weaker-than-expected outlook. Walmart (WMT) jumped more than 4% to lead Dow gainers.

The earnings calendar was relatively light on Tuesday but picks up in the coming days. In addition to the Nvidia report, which is arguably the most important earnings release of the quarter for market participants, Lowe's (LOW), Salesforce (CRM) and Dell Technologies (DELL), among others, are set to report results.

Shares of companies tied to bitcoin retreated as the digital currency dropped below $90,000 for the first time in more than a month. Bitcoin was trading at $88,400 recently, down from around $93,000 late Monday and near $100,000 at the end of last week.

Shares of Strategy (MSTR), which was formerly known as MicroStrategy and is among the world's largest holders of bitcoin, fell 11%. Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings (MARA) also dropped 11% today, while crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) was off more than 6%.

Gold futures were down 1.2% at around $2,930 an ounce in late trading, retreating from record high levels hit on Monday, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures slipped more than 2% to around $69 per barrel.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which is correlated with expectations about where interest rates are headed and influences all sorts of borrowing costs, was at 4.30%, down from 4.39% Monday and trading at its lowest level in more than two months. The yield has fallen as concerns about the economy have risen.

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