The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell Tuesday, pulling back from record-breaking highs as traders pored through the latest batch of corporate earnings.
The blue-chip Dow slid 96.36 points, or 0.25%, to 37,905.45, retreating below the 38,000 level that was crossed for the first time on Monday. Tuesday's losses ended a three-day winning streak.
The S&P 500 rose by 0.29% to 4,864.60, a fresh all-time closing high. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.43% to 15,425.94.
The 30-stock Dow was pressured by an 11% decline in 3M following disappointing guidance. Johnson & Johnson fell 1.6% after reporting earnings.
D.R. Horton dropped more than 9% after the homebuilder missed Wall Street's consensus forecast for per-share earnings. Lockheed Martin slipped more than 4% following a weak outlook for full-year earnings per share.
On the other hand, United Airlines rose more than 5% after reporting strong fourth-quarter results. However, the airline operator said it expects a first-quarter loss from the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes, the model involved in the Alaska Airlines emergency earlier this month.
Shares of other airline operators rose in tandem. Southwest Airlines climbed more than 3%, while American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska added more than 2%.
Elsewhere, Verizon and Procter & Gamble helped mitigate losses for the Dow. The pair gained more than 6% and 4%, respectively, as investors bought in following the companies' financial reports.
Those moves come after the S&P 500 officially entered a new bull market, topping its previous closing all-time high from January 2022.
But investors are deliberating how long the gains can persist, especially as the rally this year has centered around technology stocks such as Nvidia, lacking broader participation. This month alone, Nvidia is up 20%. In contrast, the small-cap Russell 2000 is lower by more than 2%.
"Investors definitely are taking a pause — doing some profit taking — on the heels of what was a really a two-year record high," said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments, of Tuesday's moves. "That's counterbalancing the bullishness in the markets."
Traders are also awaiting two key data economic data releases later in the week. The preliminary fourth-quarter gross domestic product figure is due Thursday, followed by the Commerce Department's closely-watched personal consumption expenditures price index for December on Friday.
Investors will monitor Netflix earnings after the bell on Tuesday. Technology remains a focus later in the week, with IBM and Tesla slated for Wednesday and Intel expected Thursday. Outside of tech, results from American, Alaska and Southwest are also due Thursday.
"Corporate earnings is going to be probably the most important thing we see this quarter other than what, ultimately, GDP and inflation looks like," said Alex McGrath, chief investment officer at NorthEnd Private Wealth. "I talked a lot last year about the health of the consumer. And I think that is going to be what comes most into focus at the first part of this year."