Dow Slips as Tesla Sinks Again; Nasdaq Rises Ahead of Apple’s WWDC

Stocks traded narrowly mixed midday Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging slightly lower while tech-heavy indexes notched modest gains amid ongoing market attention on Tesla’s volatility and anticipation ahead of Apple’s WWDC event.

As of 12:21 p.m. ET, the Dow slipped 7.09 points, or 0.02%, to 42,755.8. The Nasdaq Composite rose 53.88 points, or 0.28%, to 19,583.8, and the S&P 500 gained 7.34 points, or 0.12%, to 6,007.70. The Russell 2000 led the pack with a 0.65% climb.

Investor sentiment was mixed as Wall Street continued to digest the fallout from last week’s selloff in Tesla shares and monitored upcoming events likely to influence the tech landscape.

Tesla’s stock has been under considerable pressure after a public feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump sent shockwaves through markets last Thursday. The electric vehicle maker's shares plunged 14% in one day, erasing nearly all of the gains it had posted since Musk’s late-April withdrawal from the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. As of Monday morning, the stock remained down 26% year-to-date and fell another 2% in pre-market trading.

Analyst downgrades followed swiftly. Baird Equity Research shifted its rating on Tesla from “Outperform” to “Neutral,” citing “too many uncertainties across too many fronts.” The downgrade echoes broader caution from Wall Street. Goldman Sachs recently lowered its Q2 delivery forecast from 410,000 to 365,000 units, well below the consensus of 417,000, and trimmed projections for the next three years.

Tesla’s weakening fundamentals—ranging from sluggish European demand and rising competition in China to eroding profit margins—have further dampened sentiment. Baird analysts Ben Kallo and Davis Sunderland also flagged the deteriorating political relationship between Musk and Trump, highlighting the risk of lost EV tax credits and other federal incentives that previously benefited Tesla’s bottom line.

Meanwhile, tech optimism buoyed the Nasdaq as investors looked ahead to Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET. Leaks suggest Apple will unveil a comprehensive redesign of its operating systems, including a new visual style inspired by its Vision Pro device, and potential AI-enhanced features across its software lineup.

Despite investor enthusiasm for AI, expectations remain tempered. Apple is not expected to announce any major hardware updates, and its foundational AI model lags behind more advanced cloud-based competitors, according to reports reviewed by Wallstreet Insight.

Market breadth was relatively positive. Advancing stocks outpaced decliners, with 62.4% of listed names moving higher. Over 76% of stocks were trading above their 50-day moving average, indicating continued underlying strength despite headline-driven volatility.