Stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 260 points to close at 41,581. The S&P 500 lost 1.07%, finishing at 5,614, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.71% to 17,504. The S&P 500 is now 8.6% off its February high, approaching correction territory.
Tech stocks under pressure
Tesla continued its slide, falling over 5% after RBC Capital Markets cut its price target, citing increased competition in the electric vehicle market. The stock has now dropped more than 36% over the past month. Other tech names also struggled, with Palantir down nearly 4% and Nvidia falling more than 3%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) declined by over 1%.
Google’s record-breaking $32 billion acquisition of Wiz
Google has signed a definitive agreement to acquire New York-based cloud security firm Wiz for $32 billion in cash, making it the company’s largest acquisition to date. The deal is expected to close in 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
Wiz, founded in 2020 by former Israeli intelligence officers, has grown rapidly, reaching $750 million in annual revenue with clients such as BMW, Salesforce, and Slack. Google plans to integrate Wiz’s security platform to enhance its multicloud capabilities and compete with Microsoft and Amazon in cloud services.
Germany’s Bundestag approves €500 billion fiscal package
Germany’s parliament has approved a €500 billion ($548 billion) spending package, marking a historic shift in the country’s fiscal policies. The legislation passed with 513 votes in favor and 207 against and now moves to the Bundesrat for final approval on Friday.
The package relaxes Germany’s debt brake, allowing increased borrowing for defense, infrastructure, and climate projects. The move, driven by security concerns and economic stagnation, has been described as a “historic fiscal regime shift” by Deutsche Bank’s Robin Winkler.
Fed policy meeting in focus
Investors are now looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, which began Tuesday. Markets widely expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady, with CME’s FedWatch tool indicating a 99% probability of no change. Traders will closely watch Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference on Wednesday for insights into the central bank’s outlook.
Turning to Australia, SPI futures are pointing to a 52 point fall.
