Wall Street kicked off September on a sour note Tuesday, with all major indices finishing in the red as sellers reasserted control following a summer that had seen equities push to elevated levels. The S&P 500 dropped 0.69% to close at 7,625.42, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.72% to settle at 52,442.52. The tech-heavy Nasdaq bore the brunt of the selling, declining 1.27% to 25,687.33.
Small caps were not spared either, with the Russell 2000 sliding 1.14% to 2,894.08 — a sign that the risk-off tone extended well beyond mega-cap technology. The broad-based nature of the decline suggested institutional repositioning at the start of a historically challenging month for equities rather than any single catalyst.
Gold continued to shine as a safe-haven alternative, with the precious metal quoted at $4,332.51, underscoring persistent demand for hard assets amid macro uncertainty. Apple stood out as a rare bright spot, advancing 2.61% to $325.13 and providing some cushion to an otherwise grim session.
Tesla was the session's most notable laggard among large caps, falling 3.22% to $356.09, emblematic of the pressure facing momentum and growth names as the calendar flips and investors reassess risk tolerance heading into the autumn.