U.S. stocks wiped out earlier gains and turned negative gained on Tuesday as the market struggled for a direction.
The S&P 500 last traded 0.2% lower, dragged down by the energy sector. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 60 points lower.
Big Tech shares Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet all erased earlier advance and dipped into negative territory. Amazon shares came under pressure after an attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit over the e-commerce giant’s pricing.
Airlines and cruise lines provided the broader market with some support. United Airlines jumped 3% after the carrier said yields on domestic leisure tickets purchased this month topped 2019 levels amid the reopening. Boeing also gained 1.7%. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean rose more than 4% each.
Bitcoin’s recent rout, which has hit tech stocks like Tesla and dented overall investor sentiment, stabilized on Monday. The cryptocurrency was back near $38,000 early Tuesday after falling below $32,000 at one point on Sunday. Crypto prices rebounded as Elon Musk said he was having discussions with bitcoin miners regarding sustainability.
Tesla, a big holder of bitcoin, fell 1.5%. Crypto-exchange Coinbase gained 4% with the shares also getting a boost from a JPMorgan buy call.
The major averages rose on Monday, led by tech stocks and companies that benefit from a strong reopening from the pandemic as Covid cases dropped to their lowest level since June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 186 points, helped by gains in Microsoft, Salesforce and Cisco.
The S&P 500 climbed 1%. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative outperformer, jumping 1.4% as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet posted gains. The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 climbed 0.5%.
Monday “was driven by inflation anxiety relief,” Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group, told CNBC. “Evidence that inflation fears were calming in the bond and commodity markets began to drive the stock market late last week and has continued into today.”
“Growth stocks including technology have regained leadership as yield and inflation fears ease,” Paulsen added.
After Monday’s gain, the S&P 500 is now in the green for the month of May. The S&P 500 is down only about 1% from its record hit earlier this month before a pullback.
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