The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 165.60 points, or 0.37%, to close at 44,240.8, while the S&P 500 edged down 4.45 points, or 0.07%, to finish at 6,225.53. In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite eked out a gain of 5.95 points, or 0.03%, ending at 20,418.5, buoyed by strength in technology names riding the AI infrastructure wave.

Tuesday’s action unfolded amid renewed tariff salvos from President Donald Trump, who took to Truth Social to champion a new study from the Council of Economic Advisers. The post claimed tariffs had “ZERO IMPACT on Inflation” and called on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to “CUT INTEREST RATES JEROME — NOW IS THE TIME!” Trump’s post added that tariffs were making the U.S. economy “BOOM,” citing job creation and foreign investment

However, the bond market appeared less enthusiastic. The Treasury Department's $58 billion 3-year note auction drew a tepid response, with the bid-to-cover ratio falling to 2.51—below the 12-auction average of 2.60—and indirect bidding, a proxy for foreign demand, dropping to 54.1% from an average of 66.5%. The weak results sparked concerns ahead of more pivotal auctions for 10- and 30-year Treasurys later this week. The benchmark 10-year yield has surged from 4.20% to 4.43% over the past five days, inching toward the critical 4.50% level seen by traders as a key resistance point.

Despite macro volatility, technology stocks provided a counterbalance, particularly those tied to the AI and data center infrastructure boom. A thematic report by CFRA underscored how falling compute costs and accelerating adoption of agentic AI models are fueling massive capital investment. CFRA projects annual data center spending will more than double to over $1 trillion by 2028, with hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet continuing to dominate, even as newer players such as CoreWeave and Tesla ramp up capacity.

CFRA analyst Angelo Zino reiterated bullish views on semiconductor and cloud players including AMD, Marvell, Microsoft, and Amazon. Notably, NVIDIA’s latest architecture, Blackwell, is driving dramatic reductions in total cost of ownership—more than 85% lower than its predecessor Hopper—which supports the long-term compute demand thesis.

Meanwhile, commodity markets reflected diverging trends. Crude oil futures for August delivery rose $0.53, or 0.78%, to settle at $68.46 a barrel, supported by a broad-based risk-on tone in energy markets and expectations for resilient demand. In contrast, gold futures for August tumbled $29.20, or 0.87%, to close at $3,313.60 an ounce, as rising bond yields undercut the appeal of non-yielding assets.

Looking ahead, markets brace for Wednesday’s $39 billion 10-year Treasury auction and Thursday’s $22 billion 30-year bond sale, which could set the tone for rates amid elevated yield volatility. Investors are also positioning for next week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report and the kickoff of second-quarter earnings season, with results from JPMorgan, Citigroup, and BlackRock expected to offer insight into credit conditions and inflation expectations.

Despite the uncertainties, Goldman Sachs recently raised its 12-month S&P 500 target by 11% to 6,900, citing resilient earnings forecasts for 2026, faster-than-expected Fed rate cuts, and low investor positioning. “We expect the market rally to broaden in the coming months,” wrote Goldman strategists led by David Kostin