US stock markets declined on Tuesday. At the close in New York, the Dow Jones was calculated at 51,667 points, marking a drop of 0.1 percent compared to the previous trading day. Earlier, the broader S&P 500 stood at around 7,365 points, down 1.4 percent, while the technology-focused Nasdaq 100 fell sharply, registering around 29,347 points, a decrease of 3.3 percent.
Investor nervousness is growing, particularly ahead of upcoming earnings reports from semiconductor company Micron Technology. This caution stems from the recent signals from the US central bank suggesting future interest rate hikes, prompting investors to question whether the massive AI investments made by various corporations will yield actual returns. Micron’s stock itself lost double digits on Tuesday, and shares of several other chip manufacturers also saw significant losses.
In currency markets, the European common currency weakened on Tuesday evening; one Euro exchanged for 1.1380 US Dollars, meaning one Dollar cost 0.8787 Euros.
Commodities also saw pullbacks. The price of gold dropped significantly, settling at $4,109 per fine ounce in the evening, which represents a 2.0 percent decline. This equates to 116.08 Euros per gram. Similarly, oil prices fell, with a barrel of North Sea Brent crude costing $77.12 around 10 PM German time on Tuesday. This was 78 cents, or 1.0 percent, less than the closing price of the previous day.
