The S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA) each soared to fresh all-time highs on Tuesday as investors shook off most concerns surrounding the United States' attack on Venezuela.
The broader market index jumped over 0.6% to settle at 6,944.82 after notching an intra-day high on Tuesday. The Dow also climbed nearly 500 points to close at 49,462.08, marking its first time ending a trading session north of 49,000. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: QQQ) also added about 0.7% to settle at 23,547.17, as mega-cap technology names boosted much of the market.
Semiconductor stocks have seen notable gains at the start of the year, with Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) rising over 16% year-to-date to add to its monstrous 245% rally in 2025. The memory chip maker, and peers like SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, are benefitting from a supply squeeze as data center demand continues to grow in response to the artificial intelligence boom.
Nvidia (NADSAQ: NVDA) also entered market headlines on Tuesday after the chipmaker announced late Monday that it is working with leading robotaxi companies in effort to implement its AI chips and Drive AV software as soon as 2027.
"We imagine that someday, a billion cars on the road will all be autonomous," CEO Jenson Huang said during Nvidia's launch event at the CES 2026 conference on Monday. "You could either have it be a robotaxi that you're orchestrating and renting from somebody, or you could own it."
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares came under pressure on Tuesday after Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics unveiled its own autonomous humanoid robots at CES 2026, made in partnership with Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Gemini Robotics AI. The robot stands in direct competition with Tesla's Optimus models, which the electric vehicle company has recently focused most of its forward innovation efforts towards.
On the economic front, service-sector activity declined in December, the S&P Global reported Tuesday, falling to its slowest pace in eight months. Headline services PMI decreased to 52.2 from 54.1 in November, as a drop in new business inflows impacted confidence.
However, readings above the neural level of 50 indicate sector growth.
"Business activity continued to expand in December, rounding off another quarter of robust growth, but the resilience of the U.S. economy is showing signs of cracking," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, in a statement.
"Confidence has been dampened principally by uncertainty over government policy and the broader economic outlook, with tariffs and affordability featuring as common threads throughout companies' more cautious views on their prospects," he added.
Elsewhere, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) announced Tuesday it will be delaying the international rollout of its Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses as "unprecedented" domestic demand lead to inventory shortages.
Meta said it will pause the product's launch in France, Italy and Canada this year as it works to fulfill its U.S. waitlist, which "now extend[s] well into 2026," according to a blogpost.
Ford Motor (NYSE: F) on Tuesday said its U.S. vehicle sales in 2025 rose 6%, marking the automaker's best annual sales since 2019. The company reported sales of 2.2 million vehicles last year, coming near its 2019 total of 2.42 million vehicles sold.
For Wednesday, market participants can expect fresh labor market data alongside more services readings as Wall Street continues its first trading week of 2026.