Nasdaq's composite index fell 1.5 percent. The broad S&P 500 was down 0.9 percent and the industrially weighted Dow Jones sank 0.4 percent.
The tech giants felt Tuesday's decline, with electric car manufacturer Tesla down 1.3 percent, Microsoft falling 2.2 percent, semiconductor company Nvidia down 3.7 percent, and Apple back 2.9 percent.
Facebook owner Meta, on the other hand, went against the trend and rose 0.7 percent.
The price of oil surged significantly when Israel's military announced that Iran had fired missiles at the country, but came down somewhat after traders began to hope for limited damage and minimal retaliation from Israel.
The soaring oil prices, however, led to major gains for oil and gas producers. For example, American energy company Conoco Phillips rose 3.9 percent and Exxon Mobil with 2.3 percent.
