WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages all moved to the downside, adding to the modest losses posted in the previous session.
The major averages finished the day off their lows of the session but still in the red. The Nasdaq slid 159.91 points or 0.6 percent to 26,445.45, the S&P 500 fell 24.91 points or 0.3 percent to 7,728.20 and the Dow declined 184.13 points or 0.3 percent to 53,791.85.
The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came amid a notable increase by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures jumping by more than 1 percent after spiking by more than 5 percent on Monday.
Crude oil prices moved to the upside amid continuing uncertainty about an agreement to once again reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
According to a report from Reuters, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei has said the strait will not reopen until Tehran's conditions have been met.
Traders were also looking ahead to the release of a closely watched report on consumer price inflation on Wednesday.
The report is expected to show consumer prices inched up by 0.1 percent in July after falling by 0.4 percent in June. Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, are expected to rise by 0.2 percent in July after coming in unchanged in June.
The annual rate of growth by consumer prices is expected to slow to 3.4 percent in July from 3.5 percent in June, while the annual rate of growth by consumer prices is expected to slow to 2.5 percent in July from 2.6 percent in June.
Sector News
Despite the weakness shown by the broader markets, computer hardware stocks substantial strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 4.6 percent to a two-month closing high.
The sharp increase by the price of crude oil also contributed to significant strength among oil producer stocks, with the NYSE Arca Oil Index jumping by 2 percent.
Housing stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, while steel and retail stocks showed notable moves to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent, while South Korea's Kospi Index advanced by 0.7 percent.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slipped by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved back to the upside following the weakness seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.5 basis points to 4.684 percent.
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