Nasdaq and S&P500: Tech Stocks Weigh on US Indices as Fed Minutes Loom Today

Markets Open Mixed as Technology Stocks Weigh on Sentiment

The major U.S. equity indices are relatively flat shortly after the opening on Tuesday, driven by selling pressure in the tech sector. At 14:44 GMT, the blue chip Dow is down 48373.39, down 88.54 or -0.18%. The benchmark S&P 500 Index is trading 6899.57, down 6.17 or -0.09% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is at 23443.128, down 31.221 or -0.13%.

Tech Weakness Drags Indices as Energy Sector Shines

The major sectors are showing weakness with only 4 out of 11 posting modest gains. The leader, Energy, is up 0.49%, in reaction to higher oil prices in reaction to simmering tensions in the Middle East. Consumer Discretionary stocks are down 0.49% and Technology is off by 0.28%.

Healthcare and Chip Stocks Lead Mixed Trading Session

Positive market movers include Molina Healthcare (+3.735%), UnitedHealthGroup (+2.143%), Centene Corp (+1.936%) and Intel (+1.677%). Losers include Sandisk (-2.088%), Western Digital (-1.771%) and Applovin (-1.423%).

Corporate Deals and Defense Contracts Dominate Headlines

Stocks in the news include Applied Digital which reported it would spin off its cloud business and combine it with Ekso Bionics. Meta Platforms announced it had acquired Singapore-based startup Manus, which specializes in developing general purpose AI agents. Boeing is also making headlines after the U.S. Air Force awarded it an $8.58 billion contract to build fighter jets for Israel’s military, according to Reuters.

CNBC is also reporting that sources told them that Softbank has fully funded a $40 billion investment in OpenAI.

Precious Metals Volatility Spills Over Into Equities

We’ll also be watching the materials sector closely due to the unprecedented volatility in silver, gold and copper. Silver futures jumped about 7% early Tuesday before retreating, continuing 2025’s surge in precious and industrial metals.

All Eyes on Fed Minutes as Policy Debate Intensifies

Treasury yields, another key market driver, are steady ahead of the release of the Fed minutes at 19:00 GMT. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was up more than 1 basis point at 4.13%.

Investors are looking forward to today’s minutes, which are expected to detail the decision to approve the December’s 25 basis point rate cut. At the last Fed policy meeting on December 9-10, some policymakers argued for additional easing to prevent further softening in the labor market, according to CNBC.

Others said policy was already sufficiently accommodative and risked fueling inflation. The latest CME FedWatch reading has the central bank holding rates at 3.50%-3.75% at its January meeting.

Technical Picture Shows Strength Despite Near-Term Vulnerability

Technically, all three major indexes are in uptrends, holding well-above their respective 50-day moving averages. The strongest is the S&P 500 Index, which just hit a record high at 6945.77 last Friday. The Dow Jones is the next in line although it is showing resistance at 48782.00 to 48886.86, suggesting vulnerability. The Nasdaq Composite is the weakest with three tops at 23665.15, 23698.93 and 24019.99, weighing on sentiment.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.