US stocks were little changed on Tuesday as Wall Street paused after a strong rally in the previous session that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fresh record levels.
Investors weighed a major artificial intelligence announcement from Nvidia against increasingly divergent signals from Federal Reserve officials on the future path of interest rates.
The Dow traded just 13 points higher in early dealings. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%.
Technology stocks provided modest support, with Nvidia shares rising 0.9% and Alphabet advancing more than 1%, helping to offset broader market hesitation.
Markets consolidate after record-setting session
Tuesday’s subdued trading followed a powerful move on Monday that lifted the Dow to an all-time high.
That rally was fueled in part by strength in energy stocks after weekend developments in Venezuela and comments from President Donald Trump encouraging increased investment by US oil companies.
The S&P 500 energy sector logged its best one-day gain since July in the prior session, and several major names extended gains on Tuesday.
Shares of Chevron, SLB and Halliburton all ticked higher, reflecting continued momentum in the sector.
After the sharp move higher, investors appeared inclined to consolidate gains rather than extend risk-taking, particularly as attention shifted to major corporate and policy developments unfolding this week.
Nvidia accelerates AI roadmap at CES
A key focus for markets was Nvidia’s presence at the Consumer Electronics Show, where chief executive Jensen Huang delivered a keynote on Monday that underscored the company’s aggressive pace in artificial intelligence hardware.
Huang announced that Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI platform is already in full production.
He described Rubin as a six-chip, extreme-codesigned system aimed at significantly reducing the cost of training and running large AI models. According to Huang, the platform will be ready for partners later this year.
The announcement signalled that Nvidia is accelerating its hardware roadmap ahead of schedule, reinforcing its leadership position in AI infrastructure.
The move comes as rivals, including AMD and Intel, continue to push aggressively into the same market, intensifying competition across the semiconductor sector.
Fed officials split on path to neutrality
Monetary policy remained another major theme influencing sentiment.
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said Tuesday that the US central bank will need to cut interest rates by more than a full percentage point in 2026, arguing that current policy settings are clearly restraining economic growth.
“I think it’s very difficult to argue that policy is about neutral. I think policy is clearly restrictive and holding the economy back,” Miran said during an appearance on the Fox Business Network.
“I think that well over 100 basis points of cuts are going to be justified this year.”
Miran’s comments contrast with the more cautious tone adopted by other Fed officials in recent days.
The central bank cut rates last month for a third consecutive time but signalled that additional near-term reductions are not guaranteed.
In their latest projections, policymakers pencilled in just one cut for 2026, reflecting uncertainty around inflation and labour market dynamics.
Miran’s remarks followed comments from several regional Fed presidents suggesting rates may already be near neutral.
Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Tuesday that the current policy rate is “within the range” of the central bank’s neutral estimates, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said Monday that the Fed is “pretty close to neutral” given resilient economic growth.
The Fed’s benchmark rate currently sits in a 3.5% to 3.75% range. Estimates of the neutral rate among policymakers vary widely, from 2.6% to 3.9%, with a median estimate of 3%.
“Going forward, policy will require finely tuned judgments balancing progress on each side of our mandate,” Barkin said in remarks to the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
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