Dow closes down 260 points at session low as megacap tech stocks turn negative; European stocks close higher as global sentiment improves; Vodafone, Iliad weigh on telecoms 
Major U.S. stock indexes wiped out earlier gains and turned negative on Tuesday as Big Tech stocks rolled over, while data showing housing starts dropped sharply last month also weighed on sentiment. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 100 points, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite erased earlier gains and slid 0.2% as Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft all turned in afternoon trading. 
Investors also digested better-than-expected earnings from big retailers. Walmart shares jumped more than 3% after reporting strong grocery sales and e-commerce growth for the quarter. Macy’s posted a surprise profit and hiked its full-year outlook, but its shares erased earlier gains and turned negative in afternoon trading. 
Home Depot reported earnings of $3.86 a share for the previous quarter, much higher than the $3.08 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Net sales surged 32.7%, more than expected. The stock traded near the flatline Tuesday. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session up by about 0.2%, with travel and leisure shares adding 1.6% to lead gains while telecoms dropped 1.2% on the back of post-earnings falls for Iliad and Vodafone. 
Euro zone gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to Eurostat data published Tuesday, in line with initial estimates and confirming that the 19-member bloc entered a technical recession to start the year. 
Vodafone missed expectations to report a 1.2% drop in full-year adjusted earnings, sending the British telecoms company’s shares tumbling 8.9%. 
French telecoms company Iliad plunged 10.2% to the bottom of the European blue chip index after missing first-quarter revenue expectations. 
Source: CNBC