WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks regained ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
The Nasdaq inched up 21.51 points or 0.1 percent to 22,017.85 and the S&P 500 crept up 5.02 points or 0.1 percent to 6,616.85, while the narrower Dow dipped 85.42 points or 0.2 percent to 46,584.46.
Stocks showed a notable move to the upside late in the trading day after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on President Donald Trump to extend his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by two weeks to 'allow diplomacy to run its course.'
In a post on X, Sharif also asked Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a 'goodwill gesture.'
'We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region,' Sharif said.
While Trump and Iran's responses to Sharif's requests are currently unknown, the post helped ease concerns about an escalation of the conflict following the president's latest threats.
Trump had threatened to attack Iran's power plants and bridges if Tehran fails to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm ET.
Continuing to ramp up his rhetoric, Trump warned in a post on Truth Social, 'A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will.'
The president claimed that a 'different, smarter, and less radicalized' regime is now in charge of Iran and suggested something revolutionarily wonderful can happen.
'WHO KNOWS?' Trump posted, adding to uncertainty on Wall Street. 'We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.'
Sector News
Networking stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 2.4 percent to a record closing high.
Significant strength was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
Transportation and semiconductor stocks also turned in strong performances on the day, while housing and telecom stocks showed notable moves to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed just above the unchanged line, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped by 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries turned in a lackluster performance on the day before eventually closing slightly lower. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 4.343 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
