Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday as uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz closure weighed on market sentiment. The Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 and the Dow ended in negative territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.3%, or 184.13 points, to close at 53,791.85. Sixteen components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory,13 ended in the positive, and remained unchanged.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6%, to close at 26,445.45.
The S&P 500 lost 0.3% to end at 7,728.20. Out of the 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index, eight ended in negative territory, while three were in positive territory. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC), the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) fell 2.1%, 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) rose 1.1%.
The major loser of the S&P 500 Index was AppLovin Corporation APP after its shares fell 6%. AppLovin currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), decreased by 1.2% to 15.28. A total of 15 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 17.6 billion. The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs, and one new low, and the Nasdaq Composite recorded 108 new highs and 75 new lows.
Iran Sets Conditions for Strait of Hormuz Reopening
The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States changes its stance regarding the war with Iran and fulfills the Iranian conditions for a ceasefire, said the newly appointed Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, according to Reuters.
The comments heightened uncertainty as to when the key shipping lane might reopen, and markets await news of possible developments in the current war between the United States and Iran.
Markets fear a longer closure of the Strait of Hormuz as oil prices rise on financial markets. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for U.S. oil rose 0.8% to $83.83 a barrel, while Brent crude futures for global oil rose about 0.6% to $89.44 a barrel.
Economic Data
The National Association of REALTORS reported that existing-home sales fell 1.7% to 4.06 million units in July, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4 million units. The metric for June was 4.09 million units.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
