US stocks fell on Tuesday at the beginning of a shortened week of trading due to the President's Day holiday, dragged down by Nvidia, which slipped ahead of upcoming earnings results.

The Dow Jones closed down 0.2 percent at 38,563, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent to 4,975.

The Nasdaq declined 0.9 percent to 15,630. Chip giant Nvidia was down 4.4 percent.

However, its stock is still up markedly since the beginning of the year, with enthusiasm for AI-related companies having sent its share price surging.

"The stock is up about 40 percent year to date and the year is less than two months old," said Steve Sosnick, of Interactive Brokers.

"It's reasonable to think that some risk aversion is appropriate," he added.

The company is due to publish its earnings after markets close on Wednesday.

Among other stocks on the decline was Applied Materials, which fell 5.2 percent, and Advanced Micro Devices, which closed down 4.7 percent.

After the closing bell, the US cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks saw its shares tumble more than 12 percent in after-hours trading after it lowered its earnings guidance for the year ahead. (AFP)