WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks have given back ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs of the session and into negative territory.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses. The S&P 500 is down 19.31 points or 0.3 percent at 7,089.83, the Dow is down 104.03 points or 0.2 percent at 49,338.53 and the Nasdaq is down 23.02 points or 0.1 percent at 24,381.37.
The modest weakness that has emerged on Wall Street comes as the price of crude oil has moved sharply higher over the course of the session.
Extending the significant rebound seen on Monday, U.S. crude oil futures are surging by more than 3 percent on the day.
Crude oil prices are further offsetting the nosedive seen last Friday amid concerns ahead of the expiration of the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
In an interview with CNBC this morning, President Donald Trump said he expects to 'end up with a great deal' with Tehran but indicated the military is ready to resume bombing Iran when the ceasefire expires on Wednesday.
Earlier in the session, the markets benefitted from a positive reaction to some of the latest corporate earnings news.
Shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) are surging by 7.5 percent after the health insurance giant reported better than expected first quarter results and raised its full-year earnings guidance.
Homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI) has also spiked by 7.4 percent after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
On the other hand, shares of 3M (MMM) have slumped by 1.9 after the conglomerate reported better than expected first quarter earnings but provided disappointing full-year guidance.
Early buying interest was also generated in reaction to a Commerce Department report showing retail sales in the U.S. surged by more than expected in the month of March.
The report said retail sales shot up by 1.7 percent in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in February.
Economists had expected retail sales to jump by 1.4 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales surged by 1.9 percent in March after growing by 0.7 percent in February. Ex-auto sales were expected to leap by 1.3 percent.
Sector News
Gold stocks have moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.8 percent.
Significant weakness has also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.
Pharmaceutical, commercial real estate and utilities stocks have also come under pressure, while strength remains visible among oil service, software and computer hardware stocks.
Housing stocks are also turning in a strong performance following the release of a report showing pending home sales jumped by much more than expected in March.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are down by 1.1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure after ending the previous session roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.8 basis points at 4.298 percent.
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