04:44 PM EST, 11/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Wall Street's major equity benchmarks on Tuesday slumped to their lowest levels since October as major technology names, including Nvidia ( NVDA ) , sold off.

The Nasdaq Composite ended down 1.2% at 22,432.9 and the S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 6,617.3, their lowest closing levels since Oct. 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.1% at 46,091.7, its weakest finish since Oct. 16.

The Dow and the S&P 500 fell for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday.

Among sectors, energy paced the gainers, while consumer discretionary saw the steepest drop.

In company news, Microsoft ( MSFT ) fell 2.7% and Amazon ( AMZN ) shares shed 4.4%, among the worst performers on the Dow. The European Commission launched multiple investigations into the two tech heavyweights' cloud computing services.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) committed to invest billions of dollars into Amazon ( AMZN )-backed artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, which is looking to boost its compute power using the Nvidia ( NVDA )-powered cloud services of Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Azure.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) shares dropped 2.8%, the third-biggest decliner on the Dow. The chipmaking giant is scheduled to report its latest quarterly financial results Wednesday.

Meta Platforms ( META ) and Tesla (TSLA) shares also closed lower.

"The S&P 500 faces a challenging technical backdrop as we head towards two key risk events: Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings and the delayed September nonfarm payrolls," Saxo Bank said in a report Tuesday. "Against a backdrop of concerns about AI valuations and the quality of earnings in the sector, as well as mounting worries about whether the (Federal Reserve) will cut next month, the market's reflex has been to pull back from all-time highs following a monster rally since the April lows."

The delayed jobs report for September is due on Thursday.

In other company news, Home Depot's ( HD ) fiscal third-quarter earnings unexpectedly decreased year over year, while the home-improvement retailer lowered its bottom-line outlook for the full year. Home Depot ( HD ) shares slumped 6%, the steepest decline on the Dow and the S&P 500.

Medtronic ( MDT ) was the top gainer on the S&P 500, up 4.7%, after the medical device maker raised its full-year outlook and logged stronger-than-expected quarterly results amid broad-based revenue gains.

US Treasury yields were mostly lower, with the two-year rate dropping 3.4 basis points to 3.59% and the 10-year rate down 2.1 basis points at 4.12.

Inflation is unlikely to accelerate much from here on out as consumers trade down and cut back on expenses amid high prices, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Tuesday.

While inflation remains elevated, driven by factors including high goods prices, there are positive signs such as easing shelter price growth and low oil prices, Barkin -- who is not a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year -- said.

"Our outreach leads me to believe inflation remains somewhat elevated but isn't likely to increase much," Barkin said. "We hear consumers are trading down, pushing back on higher prices by moving to private label, repairing rather than replacing, and shopping at value-priced retailers. We also hear they are trading off, maybe paying for a new phone by forgoing a vacation."

Barkin offered no guidance regarding the FOMC's December policy decision as he awaited official data releases that were delayed due to the record-long government shutdown, which ended last week.

The odds of a 25-basis-point reduction in interest rates by the Fed next month rose to 49% Tuesday from 42% Monday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.4% at $60.77 a barrel in Tuesday late-afternoon trade.

In economic news, US homebuilder confidence moved up this month amid lower mortgage rates, though market and broader headwinds persist, data from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo showed.

"We continue to see demand-side weakness as a softening labor market and stretched consumer finances are contributing to a difficult sales environment," NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said. "After a decline for single-family housing starts in 2025, NAHB is forecasting a slight gain in 2026 as builders continue to report future sales conditions in marginally positive territory."

Gold was down 0.1% at $4,070.10 per troy ounce, while silver was little changed at $50.72 per ounce.