Shares hit record highs as Google's parent Alphabet shares tumble

US stocks fell on Tuesday, a day after major equity indexes hit record highs, as shares of parent company Google, Alphabet, fell after giant search engines announced that its revenues in the last quarter was the lowest since 2015.

Alphabet shares fell after the announcement on Monday, after the closing bell, that its rivals had taken a share of its formerly dominant online advertising business. The decline weighed on the S & P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite.

According to the technology giant, first-quarter revenue reached $ 36.34 billion, up 17 percent from the $ 37.33 billion expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Alphabet posted a slight profit, with a profit per share of 11.90 USD against 10.61 USD expected. Earnings per share excludes a $ 1.7 billion fine that Google paid to settle a claim with European regulators.

Investors have digested a host of other revenues. The strong sales of its aviation unit allowed General Electric's earnings to exceed Wall Street's expectations in the first quarter, thus rewarding the troubled conglomerate with a jump in its share price.

The Boston-based company, which posted a profit over the same quarter last year, said Tuesday that revenue from its aerospace business grew 12 percent to $ 7.95 billion, surpassing expectations of $ 7.86 billion.

The slowdown in North American sales and the stagnation of General Motors' international operations highlighted a decline in earnings and operating revenues in the first quarter, resulting in lower equity.

The Detroit-based automaker is shifting its passenger car business away from electric and autonomous vehicles, trucks and SUVs, which is expected to cut 14,000 jobs.

The shares of Pfizer, the maker of Eliquis and Xeljanz, rose after the biopharmaceutical giant said that the increase in prescription drug sales enabled it to make a 90% gain in the first quarter, well ahead of above Wall Street expectations. Revenues also exceeded expectations.

Apple's shares weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as the iPhone maker's shares plummeted by more than 2% before announcing its results.

Chinese official data released Tuesday morning showed that the factories 'activity in the world's second largest economy had fallen sharply in April, thus missing analysts' expectations.

Investors are monitoring US-China trade talks, especially after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that an agreement could be reached in the coming weeks.

Crude oil prices rose, raising the specter of inflation, which was no longer a problem for investors, despite the strength of the US economy. West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark US crude has grown about 1% to $ 64.02 a barrel of 42 gallons.

The interest rate setting committee of the Federal Reserve has started a two-day meeting. Wall Street does not expect the central bank to change interest rates.

The 10-year US Treasury yield edged down to 2.5%.

Tuesday's market action followed a record session the day before. Both the S & P 500 and Nasdaq benchmark rose to new highs on Monday, but the Dow remains behind. Financials led gains for the S & P 500, up 1.2%, with Citigroup and Bank of America among the strongest.

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The Shanghai Composite of China closed up 0.52%, Hang Seng 0.65% and Nikkei 225 Japan 0.22%.

The British FTSE 100 fell by 0.12%, the French CAC 40 by 0.22% and the German DAX by 0.05%.