Stocks sold off sharply in Tuesday's risk-off session. Signs of a resilient labor market created headwinds early on, while weakness in several Magnificent 7 stocks sparked more selling pressure.
One bright spot early on was General Electric, now called GE Aerospace (GE), which completed its highly anticipated spinoff of GE Vernova (GEV), though enthusiasm faded amid broad-market headwinds.
On the economic front, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) kicked off a busy week of jobs data. A mid-morning release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the number of job openings ticked slightly higher in February, to 8.8 million. Both hires and separations edged up too.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"Although there is plenty of speculation that employment has slowed down, recent numbers, including job openings as well as initial jobless claims, continue to indicate that the U.S. labor market has remained stable," says Eugenio Alemán, chief economist at Raymond James.
The good-news-is-bad-news jobs data only makes the Fed's potential rate-cut timeline all the more murkier. Adding to the uncertainty are rising oil prices, which rose 1.7% Tuesday to $85.15 per barrel. Crude oil prices are now up nearly 19% for the year to date and this could keep inflation – and interest rates – higher for longer.
GE completes GE Vernova spinoff
In single-stock news, GE stock was up 3.3% at its intraday high on its first day trading as GE Aerospace. The former industrial giant spun off GE Vernova (GEV), which houses its gas power and renewable energy business. At the close, though, GE was down 2.4%, while GEV shares fell 1.4%.
Still, "GE's decision to split up helped change sentiment on the name. Its price performance is much more encouraging since it decided to split, with upside accelerating as the spinoffs came to fruition," writes Dan Burrows, senior investing writer at Kiplinger, about the GE spinoff. "GE's annualized total return easily tops the S&P 500 over the past five years, and doubles the broader market's returns for the trailing three-year period."
Tesla slides on Q1 deliveries miss
Tesla (TSLA) slid 4.9% after the electric vehicle maker said it delivered 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter. This was down 8.5% year-over-year and much less than the 457,000 vehicles analysts were expecting, according to FactSet.
In a press release, Tesla pointed to factory shutdowns as a result of the Red Sea conflict and an arson attack at the Gigafactory Berlin as reasons for the drop in deliveries.
Fellow Mag 7 stocks Nvidia (NVDA, -1.0%), Alphabet (GOOGL, -0.6%) and Microsoft (MSFT, -0.7%) took notable slides today.
UnitedHealth sinks on Medicare news
Elsewhere, several large-cap healthcare stocks tumbled after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said its reimbursement rate for Medicare Advantage health plans will increase by 3.7% next year. This is unchanged from the agency's January projection and lower than some were hoping for.
Humana (HUM, -13.4%), CVS Health (CVS, -7.2%) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH, -6.4%) all finished Tuesday with significant losses.
UNH's large drop – which cut $29 billion from its market cap – made it the worst Dow Jones stock. And at $458 a share, it has the biggest impact on the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average. As a result, the 30-stock index fell 1.0% today to 39,170.
The broader S&P 500 shed 0.7% to 5,205, while the rate-sensitive Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.0% to 16,240 as the 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since November.
Related content
- When Is the Next Jobs Report?
- Here's What's at Stake in Disney's Proxy Battle With Nelson Peltz
- Kiplinger's Earnings Calendar for This Week
-
Stock Market Today: Another Quarter, More Mixed Price Action"Up and to the right" remains the general trend despite persistent uncertainty around critical policy issues.
-
Over 100k Medicare Accounts Breached in Latest Hack: Was Yours One?Letters are going out to 103,000 Medicare beneficiaries who may have been impacted. Here's how to protect your identity and benefits.
-
Stock Market Today: Another Quarter, More Mixed Price Action
"Up and to the right" remains the general trend despite persistent uncertainty around critical policy issues.
-
This 401(k) Withdrawal Snafu Could Knock Your Portfolio off CourseFew financial advisers have heard of this 401(k) withdrawal issue. Here's how to safeguard your portfolio.
-
Why Homeowners Should Beware of Tangled TitlesIf you're planning to pass down property to your heirs, a 'tangled title' can complicate things. The good news is it can be avoided. Here's how.
-
A Cautionary Tale: Why Older Adults Should Think Twice About Being LandlordsBecoming a landlord late in life can be a risky venture because of potential health issues, cognitive challenges and susceptibility to financial exploitation.
-
Home Equity Evolution: A Fresh Approach to Funding Life's Biggest NeedsHomeowners leverage their home equity through various strategies, such as HELOCs or reverse mortgages. A newer option: Shared equity models. How do those work, and what are the pros and cons?
-
AI vs the Stock Market: How Did Alphabet, Nike and Industrial Stocks Perform in June?AI is a new tool to help investors analyze data, but can it beat the stock market? Here's how a chatbot's stock picks fared in June.
-
Stock Market Today: A Historic Quarter Closes on High Notes"All's well that ends well" is one way to describe the second quarter of 2025, at least from a pure price-action perspective.
-
Keep Tax Collectors at Bay with Muni Bond FundsMunicipal bonds can be good insurance against inflation — and interest is tax-free. But as with all investments, understanding risk is key.
