US stocks dragged lower from record highs by tech heavyweights set to report earnings

• US stocks slipped from record highs on Tuesday dragged by big tech stocks.
• Investors are eyeing earnings from Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet, as well as the upcoming Fed meeting.
• Bitcoin and oil slipped, while gold slightly rose.

US stocks tumbled from record highs on Tuesday dragged lower by tech heavyweights such as Apple and Microsoft, which are set to report earnings Tuesday after the markets close. Alphabet is also scheduled to post its results on Tuesday, while Amazon is due on Thursday.

The four companies - the largest in the US by market capitalization - were all down. Tesla was also lower following its Monday's earnings report. More than a third of the S&P 500 companies are expected to post earnings this week.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq on Tuesday suffered its biggest one-day drop in more than two months while the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both slipped. All three indexes closed at record highs during the previous session.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,401.63, down 0.47%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,058.79, down 0.24% (85.52 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,660.58, down 1.21%

"The week ahead includes another big round of scheduled earnings reports, a Federal Reserve FOMC meeting, and the first look at US 2Q21 GDP growth," James Ragan, director of wealth management research at DA Davidson, said in a note.

The Fed meeting, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, will shed light on the central bank's outlook on domestic and global economic recovery and will give markets a glimpse of the central bank's plan to begin tapering asset purchases or start raising rates.

Ragan said he expects no change to either the 0% target on the overnight Fed funds interest rate, or the Fed's aggressive bond market activity where it purchases $120 billion per month in Treasury and mortgage securities.

Stocks were also dragged by a slump in Chinese shares amid an ongoing clampdown on key industry sectors.

US stocks in recent weeks have climbed mostly higher as investors cheered robust corporate earnings and the accelerating pace of global economic recovery. The Delta variant, however, on top of inflationary concerns, continues to dampen the positive sentiment.

"Financial markets are plagued by many uncertainties," Rob Sechan, managing partner at NewEdge Wealth, said in a note. "Investor convictions appear to be very shallow."

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin reversed its rally to drop below $38,000 after Amazon quashed speculation about accepting cryptocurrency payments.

Oil prices were lower. The West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.36%, to $71.64 while Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, slipped 0.12% to $74.41 a barrel.

Gold rose 0.11%, to $1,799.85 per ounce.