02:19 PM EST, 01/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday amid declines in certain mega-cap stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.5% at 19,569.1 after midday Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.7% to 5,932.8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1% to 42,659.1. Among sectors, consumer discretionary saw the steepest decline, while energy paced the gainers.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares were down 5%, the biggest drop on the Dow and among the worst on the Nasdaq. Amazon.com ( AMZN ) , Apple ( AAPL ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) were also among the worst performers on the Dow.

Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) fell 3.9%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500, while Meta Platforms ( META ) dropped 1.6%. The Facebook and Instagram parent said it is ending its third-party fact-checking program in the US and introducing a more personalized approach to political content on its platforms as part of its commitment to "free expression."

Drugmaker Moderna (MRNA) was the best performer on the S&P 500, up nearly 13%.

Paychex ( PAYX ) struck a deal to buy Paycor HCM ( PYCR ) in a $4.1 billion deal that will help the human resources and payroll solutions provider expand upmarket and boost its artificial intelligence capabilities. Paychex ( PAYX ) shares rose 2.5%, while Paycor fell 3%.

The US 10-year yield increased 7.5 basis points to 4.69% intraday, while the two-year rate gained 2.9 basis points to 4.3%.

In economic news, the US services sector expanded faster than expected last month as business activity picked up, according to Institute for Supply Management data.

The services purchasing managers' index improvement "is encouraging at a time when many other data series have begun to falter," Jefferies said in a note to clients.

On Monday, S&P Global ( SPGI ) data showed that the services industry reached a 33-month high last month.

US job openings rose to about 8.1 million in November from 7.84 million the month prior, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The consensus was for a 7.74 million reading in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Online shopping climbed to a record in the 2024 holiday season, with the majority of US e-commerce transactions taking place on mobile devices and artificial intelligence powering click throughs to retail websites, Adobe (ADBE) Analytics' data showed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 1.2% to $74.45 a barrel intraday.

Gold was up 0.6% at $2,662.20 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.2% to $30.65 per ounce.