US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq end slightly down

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed fractionally lower in choppy trading on Tuesday, as gains in communication services stocks were offset by declines in technology and financial stocks, with financials also weighing on the Dow. Communication services shares were among the biggest gainers on the S&;P ⁠500, fueled by a 1.1% rise in Meta Platforms .



The technology company said it would acquire Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup Manus, accelerating efforts to integrate advanced AI across its platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Information technology stocks ended slightly lower with Apple down 0.3% and Nvidia falling 0.4%, while Microsoft inched up.



On Monday, these heavyweight stocks snapped a six-session winning streak, their longest since September. Last week, the rally had also propelled the S&P 500 to a record high.



The S&P 500 lost 9.50 points, or 0.14%, to close at 6,896.24 points, the Nasdaq Composite lost 55.27 points,or 0.23%, to 23,419.08, and the Dow Jones Industrial Averagefell 94.87 points, or 0.20%, to 48,367.06 points.