WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After recovering from an early sell-off to end Monday's session mostly higher, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq inched up 1.16 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 22,697.10, the Dow edged down 34.29 points or 0.1 percent to 47,706.51 and the S&P 500 dipped 14.51 points or 0.2 percent to 6,781.48.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came amid substantial volatility by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery plummeting almost 12 percent after soaring to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday.
Traders also seemed to be expressing some uncertainty about the U.S. war with Iran after President Donald Trump's latest remarks about the conflict.
Trump said in a press conference on Monday that the war against Iran could end 'very soon' but provided few details about his end game.
The president claimed in a subsequent post on Truth Social that Iran would be hit 'twenty times harder' if they do anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz.
'We will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again - Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them - But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!' Trump said.
Echoing Trump's confidence, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted in a press conference this morning that Iran is 'badly losing' but said the U.S. will still be launching its 'most intense day of strikes' in Iran today.
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster close by the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.
Software stocks showed a significant move to the downside, however, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index falling by 1.7 percent.
Oil producer, natural gas and housing stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside along with the price of the precious metal.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index spiked by 2.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot up by 2.2 percent.
The major European markets have also shown strong moves back to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index surged by 2.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.8 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after seeing early strength, closing roughly flat for the second straight session. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, ended the day unchanged at 4.136 percent.
Looking Ahead
The latest developments in the Middle East are likely to remain in focus on Wednesday, although a report on consumer price inflation may still attract attention.
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