Dow drops 400 points, S&P 500 sheds 1% as investors rotate out of tech: Live updates

The S&P 500 pulled back as investors rotated out of technology stocks into shares more broadly linked to improvements in the economy.

The broad market index fell 1.4%. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 471 points, or 1%, after earlier rising as much as 0.5% to touch 49,653.13, a new record. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.2%, pushing the tech-heavy index into negative territory for the year.

Most tech shares were in the red, including the “Magnificent Seven” names that have reported earnings so far — Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla were down 3%, 2% and 1%, respectively, while Apple was marginally lower. Nvidia also slumped, with the artificial intelligence bellwether adding to its losses for the year. Meanwhile, software stocks continued their 2026 tumble, with shares like ServiceNow and Salesforce falling 7% each.

“I think we have one or two of these periods every year. The cause is always different, but the effect is always the same. Some of the most popular trades of the previous uptrend just get absolutely nuked,” Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, said on CNBC’s “Halftime Report,” pointing to Palantir Technologies giving up some of its morning gains.

Shares of Palantir jumped 6% after the defense tech company gave strong fourth-quarter financial results and upbeat guidance. At one point, shares were trading 11% higher in Tuesday’s premarket session.

Brown added, “It tells you risk appetite is coming out of anything that has to do with technology.”

There were a few bright spots in markets, however. Walmart surpassed a $1 trillion market capitalization threshold on Tuesday following an eye-watering stock climb driven by its digital businesses growth and acquisition of new customers, joining a small group of stocks that have crossed that mark. The retail name was last up 2%.

In the health care sector, Merck posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates on strong demand for its cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and some of its other products. The pharmaceutical company was up 2%, making it one of the top gainers in the Dow.

PepsiCo earnings were also strong, fueled by improving organic sales across its business — a fact that pushed up shares 3%. Elsewhere, bank stocks were also in the green. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo rose 2%, while Citigroup gained about 1%.

“Revenue trends look incredibly solid, but at the margin, there continues to be some concerns emanating around the software space, in particular, related to the potential disintermediation that can occur from artificial intelligence,” U.S. Bank Asset Management Group senior investment director Bill Northey told CNBC. “And I think that’s a story that is still yet to be written, but ultimately, we’re seeing that reflected in sentiment at this point in time.”

Helping sentiment Tuesday was a rebound in silver and gold prices, with spot gold and spot silver up 5% each on the day. Gold and silver have been the most popular trades of retail traders this year. Big losses in silver last week raised fears that the trade unraveling would trigger a risk-off mentality for the group across the board.

Investors this week are digesting more than 100 S&P 500 companies reporting earnings results. In addition to Alphabet, fellow “Magnificent Seven” giant Amazon is slated to report later this week. Tech earnings will be in focus as investors look for signs of AI-driven efficiency and profit growth, particularly after the market’s unforgiving reaction to Microsoft’s results last week.