(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and analysts' comments from the first paragraph.)
US equity indexes traded mixed as plunging mega-cap semiconductor shares sent the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 sharply lower ahead of Tuesday's close.
The Nasdaq Composite slumped 2% to 25,648.8, and the S&P 500 dropped 1.3% to 7,376.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 51,698.5 in the final leg of trading.
Technology, industrials, and materials were the standout decliners, while consumer staples, real estate, and health care topped the gainers.
In a category of stocks with a market capitalization of over $200 billion, 17 out of the 20 worst-performing stocks were technology firms. Sandisk (SNDK), Micron Technology (MU), and Arm (ARM) were the steepest decliners, sinking by at least 9.9% each ahead of the close. Within technology, semiconductors bore the brunt of investors' apathy.
The sharp selling is likely profit-taking after market exuberance pushed tech stocks to record highs this year, Javier Correonero, Morningstar senior equity analyst, said in a news report published on the company's website. "There's a lot of froth in the markets."
Tech stocks may face spillover impact from the selloff in South Korea, though the slide appears to be a "pullback/breather" in a market that nearly doubled this year, Wedbush Securities said in a note.
Expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this year have weighed on stocks in recent sessions, according to the Morningstar news report. The CME FedWatch tool shows a 33% probability that the target rate for fed funds will be raised to 4% to 4.25% by December, from 3.5% to 3.75% currently, implying a 50-basis-point increase between now and the end of the year.
In geopolitical news, President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will be heading to Iran, according to a report from Al Jazeera. In response to a journalist who said that Tehran claims that there are no scheduled IAEA visits, Trump said: "They're wrong, they know they're wrong. They told us inside, and we have it down 100 percent. If they were right, I'd cancel the meetings right now."
Separately, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said no negotiations will take place on the country's ballistic missiles, Al Jazeera reported.
Front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent retreated 1% to $77.13 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate slid 0.7% to $73.31 per barrel, off session lows.