U.S. stocks fell for the first time in six days on Tuesday ahead of quarterly earnings reports from several megacap technology companies.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 85.79 points to 35,058.52.
The S&P 500 deducted 20.84 points to 4,401.46, led to the downside by consumer names, tech and energy.
The NASDAQ plummeted 180.14 points, or 1.2%, to 14,660.58.
The major averages all slipped from their respective records reached in the previous session, breaking their five-day winning streaks.
Shares of UPS tumbled roughly 7% as the shipping company’s domestic revenue came up shy of estimates. UPS beat on the top and bottom lines, however, as a surge in e-commerce orders continued.
Tesla erased earlier gains and fell 1.9% following a better-than-expected second-quarter earnings report. The electric vehicle maker passed $1 billion in quarterly net income for the first time.
The second-quarter earnings season kicked into high gear this week with Google-parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple reporting after the bell Tuesday. The trio of tech heavyweghts declined ahead of their numbers: Alphabet slid nearly 1.6%, and Apple dropped roughly 1.5%. Microsoft was down nearly 0.9%.
So far, 88% of S&P 500 companies have reported a positive EPS surprise, according to FactSet. If 88% is the final percentage, it will mark the highest percentage since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2008.
Investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s update on its monetary policy as the central bank’s two-day meeting began. The Federal Open Market Committee will release a statement when the meeting concludes Wednesday, followed by Chairman Jerome Powell’s news conference.
The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that there’s a risk inflation will prove to be more than just transitory, pushing central banks to take pre-emptive action.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained ground, lowering yields to 1.24% from Monday’s 1.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 14 cents to $71.77 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices eked up 70 cents to $1,799.90 U.S. an ounce.