US stocks slide from new highs as hope for expanded stimulus fades

• US stocks on Tuesday pulled back from record highs as hopes for $2,000 direct stimulus payments faded.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked Democrats' attempt to hold a vote on the $2,000 checks, but he said the Senate would "begin a process" of considering a proposal to send them.
• Intel soared 8% after Daniel Loeb's activist hedge fund urged the chipmaker in a letter to explore strategic alternatives, Reuters reported.
• Goldman Sachs said Snap Inc. could surge 45% as its product developments drive faster-than-expected revenue growth.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks on Tuesday pulled back from record highs as hopes for $2,000 direct stimulus payments faded.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked an attempt by Democrats to hold a vote on the $2,000 checks but said the Senate would "begin a process" of considering a proposal to send them to Americans - a measure that Democrats and President Donald Trump have pushed for.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had called for a vote in the Senate on Tuesday after the House passed supplemental legislation known as the CASH Act on Monday night.

Here's where US indexes stood after the 4 p.m. ET close on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 3,727.04, down 0.22%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 30,335.67, down 0.22% (68.30 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 12,850.22, down 0.38%

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Intel soared 8% after Daniel Loeb's activist hedge fund, Third Point, sent a letter to the chipmaker urging it to explore strategic alternatives, according to Reuters.

"Without immediate change at Intel, we fear that America's access to leading-edge semiconductor supply will erode, forcing the US to rely more heavily on a geopolitically unstable East Asia to power everything from PCs to data centers to critical infrastructure," the letter said.

Goldman Sachs said Snap Inc., Snapchat's parent company, could surge 45% as its product developments drive faster-than-expected revenue growth. The firm reiterated its "buy" rating on the stock and set a $70 price target for the company, which helped to propel an 11% jump for Snap on Tuesday.

Arcturus Therapeutics fell as much as 53%, to $40, extending its losses for the second straight day after Wall Street was disappointed with the medical company's COVID-19 vaccine updates. Analysts from Barclays, Raymond James, and Baird all downgraded their ratings for Arcturus on Tuesday.

Oil prices were up. West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.76%, to $47.89 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, increased 0.35% to $51.04 per barrel.

Gold increased 0.65%, to $1,883.50 per ounce.

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