Oil drops below $80 per barrel, while tech stocks weigh on a mixed Wall Street

Wall Street experienced mixed trading on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 falling 0.6% to 7,511.35 after pulling 1.3% below its recent record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 51,999.67, setting a new high for the second consecutive day, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.2% to 26,376.34. Tech stocks, particularly those tied to artificial-intelligence, weighed heavily on the market, with Nvidia declining 2.4%, Broadcom falling 4.4%, and Micron Technology dropping 6.2%. The downturn in tech stocks reflected concerns over inflated valuations amid recent volatility in the AI-driven market. Meanwhile, SpaceX surged 4.8% for its third straight gain after announcing plans to acquire Cursor, an AI coding assistant, for $60 billion. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment fell 6.2% following weaker-than-expected quarterly profits, and Robinhood Markets dropped 1.4% after announcing layoffs affecting 10% of its workforce. Oil prices sank below $80 per barrel for the first time since early March, driven by hopes that a tentative U.S.-Iran deal could reopen the Strait of Hormuz by the end of the week. Brent crude settled at $78.96, down 5.1%, as traders anticipated restored oil flows from the region. Negotiations still face hurdles, including Iran’s nuclear program, but the potential deal could ease global inflation pressures. Yum Brands climbed 1.9% after announcing the sale of the Pizza Hut chain for $2.7 billion, with most restaurants going to LongRange Capital and those in mainland China to Yum China Holdings. The broader market remained divided, with gains in some sectors offset by losses in others, reflecting ongoing uncertainty in key industries.