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Stocks slipped Tuesday as what appeared to be an escalating situation in the Middle East poured water on investor enthusiasm coming off a strong quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average clambered lower 153.32 points Tuesday afternoon at 42,176.83.
The S&P 500 index sank 54.21 points to 5,708.27
The NASDAQ Composite swooned 291.3 points, or 1.6%, to 17,897.87.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil spiked as a senior White House official told NBC News that there are “indications” that Iran is preparing to launch a ballistic missile directly at Israel. A jump in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, above 20 underscored the rising concern among traders.
Tech names felt the brunt of Tuesday’s declines, explaining the Nasdaq’s outsized losses. Tesla slid 4%, while Nvidia and Apple dropped more than 3%. But Facebook parent Meta bucked this trend, rising near all-time highs.
Tuesday’s pullback comes after the S&P 500 and the Dow notched closing records in the previous session, which marked the end of the trading month and quarter. September is typically the worst month of the year for stocks, but this time it broke with past trends.
All three major averages posted monthly gains, and it was the first positive September for the S&P 500 since 2019. The S&P 500, Dow and NASDAQ also ended the third quarter in positive territory.
On the economic data front, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for August is due Tuesday morning. The S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index and the ISM Manufacturing PMI readings are also slated for release.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 3.72% from Monday’s 3.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.71 at $70.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices soared $23.70 to $2,683.10 U.S. an ounce
