04:56 PM EST, 01/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed lower Tuesday amid declines in major technology stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9% to 19,489.7, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.1% to 5,909. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.4% to 42,528.4. Technology saw the steepest decline among sectors, while materials was little changed. Only energy and health care closed higher.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares declined 6.2%, the biggest drop on the Dow and among the worst on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Amazon.com ( AMZN ) , Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Apple ( AAPL ) were also among the worst performers on the Dow.

Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) fell 4.1%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500, while Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Netflix ( NFLX ) also closed lower.

Meta Platforms ( META ) said it will end its third-party fact-checking program in the US and introduce a more personalized approach to political content as it seeks to restore free expression on its platforms. The Facebook and Instagram parent's shares dropped 2%.

Drugmaker Moderna (MRNA) was the best performer on the S&P 500, up nearly 12%.

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 2.4%, the second-best Nasdaq performer, while Paycor fell 3%.

The US 10-year yield increased 7.1 basis points to 4.69%, while the two-year rate gained 2.3 basis points to 4.29%.

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

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.

US job openings increased in November to the highest level in six months, while layoffs rose marginally, government data showed.

The US trade deficit widened in November as imports growth outpaced that of exports, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported.

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% to $74.27 a barrel Tuesday.

Gold advanced 0.7% to $2,664.80 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.2% to $30.65 per ounce.