The Dow Jones fell 0.72%, the Nasdaq index fell 0.16% and the broader S&P 500 index dropped 0.47%.
"Markets can't go up every day, it's not sustainable," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. "We just have some profit-taking. It's healthy."
The New York market welcomed this decline with phlegm, especially as the indices recovered at the end of the session.
"You have to keep in mind that we just went down to Thursday's levels," which marked more than a year highs, Sosnick said. "It's not what you call a major correction."
Illustrating the fact that Wall Street remains serene, the VIX volatility index measuring the nervousness of traders remained Tuesday close to its lowest level in more than three years, reached last Thursday. The New York Stock Exchange was closed on Monday, a public holiday in the United States.
The only indicator of the day confirmed the view of the market, which sees the US economic activity as a soft landing.
Housing starts hit a 13-month high in May, and building permit filings, considered a leading indicator of the housing market, jumped 5.2 percent month-on-month, while economists had expected the status quo.
For Oanda's Edward Moya, the weakening of real estate in recent months was an asset for the US central bank (Fed) in its fight against inflation, "but it seems that we are at a low point", a sign that the market could rebound and prices with it.
Investors continue to ostensibly doubt the signals from the Fed, with the majority of members expecting another round of rate hikes by the end of the year. The market is only expecting an increase in July, followed by a status quo until 2024.
As the equity market tagged, bonds recovered after several difficult sessions. The yield on 10-year US government bonds stood at 3.71%, compared with 3.76% on Friday at the close.
On the market, the manufacturer of electric vehicles Rivian rose (+5.51%) after unveiling an agreement with its competitor Tesla (+5.34%) that will allow owners of its cars to access the network of chargers of the company led by Elon Musk.
Another competitor of Tesla, Nikola, jumped (+10.92%) after revealing Friday a social plan that will reduce by almost a quarter its workforce and should allow the group of Phoenix (Arizona) to spare its cash.
Alibaba declined (-4.53%) after the announcement of a reshuffle of the group's management, with the appointment of two close to the co-founder and emblematic personality of the Chinese giant, Jack Ma, as chairman and chief executive.
Nike was punished (-3.57%) after a price cut of UBS, which expects the equipment manufacturer to publish, next week, disappointing forecasts.
The cryptocurrency sector has benefited from the launch, by several established financial companies, including Charles Schwab, Fidelity or Citadel, of a crypto-asset exchange platform. It shows that traditional finance players have not given up on engaging in cryptocurrencies despite the recent turbulence in this industry.
Cryptocurrency mining specialists Marathon Digital (+17.43%) and Riot Platforms (+8.17%), were driven by this momentum, as was the exchange platform Coinbase (+2.70%).
© 2023 AFP