Dow Jones falls 500 points, S&P and Nasdaq plunge more than 1% due to concerns about valuation and the jitters about interest rate cuts persist

Stocks on Wall Street fell further on Tuesday as worries about the technology sector and worries about the strength of consumer spending weighed on the market and the possibility of a Fed rate cut in December faded.The Dow Jones fell 578.28 points (-1.24%) to 45,965.39, the S&P 500 fell 72.34 points (-1.08%) to 6,583.84 and the Nasdaq fell 372.61 points (-1.64%) to 22,267.19.

The moves came as valuation concerns persisted when it came to stocks linked to artificial intelligence.Big tech names lost ground, with Nvidia shares down 1.3 percent in early trading and Palantir Technologies down 0.4 percent.

Shares in Amazon fell about 2.0 percent, while Microsoft retreated 1.7 percent.

“Concerns about the technology sector are weighing on share prices,” said David Morrison of Trade Nation. He added that investors should also price in “the prospect of another rate cut” from the Federal Reserve next month. Recent comments from central bank officials have led many to call for the Fed to keep interest rates steady at its next policy meeting in December.

If so, it would “remove strong tailwinds for equity markets,” Morrison said.

Traders are also digesting results from US retailer Home Depot, whose profits beat analysts’ expectations before trading began on Tuesday.

The company, seen as a bellwether for U.S. consumer spending, also lowered its full-year outlook while reporting weaker demand for home improvements.

Briefing.com’s Patrick O’Hare noted that the company’s results have fueled “concerns about a discretionary slowdown in spending.”

The shares fell 3.2 percent.

Later this week, investors will keep an eye on financial results from retailers Target and Walmart to further gauge consumer health, in addition to a report from chip titan Nvidia.