US Stocks Dip As Powell Stays Cautious, Intel Climbs, Tesla Sinks To 11-Week Low: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

U.S. stocks edged marginally lower on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank is in no hurry to cut interest rates during his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, offering little support for risk assets.

Investors remained on edge ahead of Wednesday's key inflation report, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics set to release the January Consumer Price Index.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, the Nasdaq 100 declined 0.2%, and small-cap stocks underperformed. Bucking the trend, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a marginal 0.1% gain.

Company-wise, Intel Corp. INTC surged 7%, after Vice President J.D. Vance indicated that artificial intelligence chips will be manufactured in the U.S.

Tesla Inc. TSLA fell by over 4%, reaching the lowest levels in eleven weeks, pressured by weak January auto sales in China.

Geopolitical tensions flared as the European Union threatened countermeasures in response to President Donald Trump's announcement of 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel.

Long-dated Treasury yields moved higher, with the 10-year yield rising to 4.54%. Yet, the broader dollar index – as tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP – weakened, down 0.2%.

Gold paused for a breather, remaining flat at $2,900 per ounce. Oil prices inched up by 1%, eyeing the third straight session of gains.

Bitcoin BTC/USD weakened 1.3% to $96,000.

Tuesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %chg
Dow Jones	44,526.92	0.1%
S&P 500	6,064.30	-0.1%
Nasdaq 100	21,714.53	-0.3%
Russell 2000	2,273.29	-0.6%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY inched 0.1% down to $604.07.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA was 0.1% up to $445.06.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ fell 0.3% to $527.55.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM eased 0.7% to $225.34.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE outperformed, up 1.4%; the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY lagged, down 1.2%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

• Steel Dynamics Inc. STLD rose 2.4% after KeyBanc raised the stock to Overweight.
• Phillips 66 PSX surged 5% after Elliott Investment Management urged the company to sell or spin off its midstream business, estimating its value at over $40 billion.
• Apple Inc. AAPL gained 2.8%, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA climbed 2% amid speculation about a potential AI partnership for iPhone users in China.

Stocks reacting to earnings reports include:

• S&P Global Inc. SPGI: up 3.8%
• Ecolab Inc. ECL: up 7.5%
• Coca-Cola Co. KO: up 3.7%
• DuPont de Nemours Inc. DD: up 7.8%
• Marriott International Inc. MAR: down 5.6%
• Humana Inc. HUM: down 6.5%
• Masco Corp. MAS: up 0.6%
• WK Kellogg Co. KLG: down 0.7%
• Arvinas Inc. ARVN: down 6.3%
• AutoNation Inc. AN: down 3.3%
• Carlyle Group Inc. CG: down 4.7%
• Carrier Global Corp. CARR: down 1.8%
• Fidelity National Information Services Inc. FIS: down 14.9%
• GlobalFoundries Inc. GFS: up 6.2%
• IPG Photonics Corp. IPGP: down 5.9%
• LCI Industries LCII: up 3.5%
• Leidos Holdings Inc. LDOS: down 5.4%
• MYT Netherlands Parent BV MYTE: up 19.4%
• NNN REIT Inc. NNN: up 5.8%
• Royalty Pharma Plc RPRX: up 1.4%
• Sunoco LP SUN: down 1.8%
• TPG Inc. TPG: down 3.5%
• USA Compression Partners LP USAC: down 2.9%
• Wesco International Inc. WCC: up 2.1%

Companies reporting after the close include:

• American International Group Inc. AIG
• Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD
• Welltower Inc. WELL
• Assurant Inc. AIZ
• Primerica Inc. PRI
• Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. ALSN
• Edwards Lifesciences Corp. EW
• Energy Transfer LP ET
• Brighthouse Financial Inc. BHF
• DoorDash Inc. DASH
• W. P. Carey Inc. WPC
• Agree Realty Corp. ADC
• Red Rock Resorts Inc. RRR
• Teradata Corp. TDC

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