By Daniel Shvartsman
Investing.com -- Stock markets closed lower in the first day of a holiday-shortened last trading week of the year, as tech led the market lower much as it has through the rest of 2022.
The S&P 500 closed down .41% on Tuesday, ending the day at 3829. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 37 point, .1% gain, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.38%, at 10353, only 2.6% above 52-week lows. The Russell 2000 finished the day down .37%.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) was the headline grabber Tuesday as it has been for much of the past decade, whether going higher or lower. The electric vehicle maker closed near session lows at $109.10, down 11.4%, as shares saw heavy volume for a holiday-shortened last week of the year. The main news story was that the company was reducing production at its Shanghai plant, though tax loss selling, general momentum, and angst over CEO Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition and subsequent involvement there may be as much at fault.
Other leading lights on the Nasdaq that traded off heavily Tuesday included semiconductor maker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) (-7.1%), as well as peers Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ:MRVL) (-3.1%), NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) (-2.5%), and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) (-1.9%); biotech and vaccine maker Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) (-9.5%); additional electric vehicle companies such as Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID) (-7.5%) and Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) (-7.3%); and FAANG components Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) (-3.6%), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (-2.1%), and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) (-2.6%).
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was another notable market mover, down 6% amid heavy flight cancellations due to rough weather in the United States. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed down 1.4%, setting a new 52-week low during the day, even as JPMorgan reported that supply times for the iPhone are improving.
Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) rose 4.5% and 4.2% respectively amid news that China was reducing requirements on inbound travelers to the country, dropping a mandatory quarantine period for just a negative PCR test. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) (+4.9%), JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) (+4.2%) and Pinduoduo (NASDAQ:PDD) (+1.4%) also rode this wave higher. Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) (+3%) and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) (+2%) were among other notable gainers on the day.
Crude Oil WTI Futures gave back gains on the day, trading .25% higher after being up as much as 1.5% on the day. Brent Oil Futures traded .5% higher after also falling back from highs of the day, which perhaps also came on the back of the China news. Natural gas traded with volatility, up 1.8% at 16:05 ET (21:05 GMT) after opening 4% higher as the impact from that heavy weather across the U.S. was still being assessed.
The US Dollar Index dipped .1% in Tuesday trading, with the EUR/USD about flat at $1.0641, and gold riding up 1% to continue a hot year-end streak, trading at $1821.6. Bitcoin drifted down about 1% to 16663.
United States 10-Year treasuries traded up 2.81% to 3.852%.
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