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The S&P 500 fell slightly on Tuesday in choppy trading as oil prices pulled back and traders kept an eye on the Iran war.
The Dow Jones Industrials had faded 34.17 points by the close Tuesday to 47,706.63.
The much-broader index erased 14.47 points to 6,781.52.
The NASDAQ eked higher 1.16 points to 22,698.16.
Oil prices, which spiked to nearly $120 a barrel Monday at height of fear around the Iran conflict, dropped as traders believed a group of countries would tap emergency crude reserves to mitigate disruption caused by the conflict.
Prices then slid further after Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a since-deleted social media post that the U.S. Navy was able to escort a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. After the post appeared to be deleted, however, oil bounced back slightly off its lows, while stocks moved off their highs of the day.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Tuesday that the U.S. has, in fact, not escorted a tanker through the Strait passageway.
Also weighing on sentiment, CBS News reported that the U.S. has started to see indications that Iran is moving toward deploying mines in the Strait.
President Donald Trump on Monday evening said, “We’re achieving major strides toward completing our military objective,” reinforcing earlier comments that the military campaign could soon end. Speaking at a press conference at his golf club near Miami, Trump also said, “We are also focused on keeping energy and oil flowing to the world.”
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “Today will be our most intense day of strikes inside Iran.” He also said that Iran is “badly losing.”
Meanwhile, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote in a post on X that the Middle Eastern country is not looking for a ceasefire, according to a translation.
Energy ministers from the Group of Seven nations — specifically Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S. — were planning to meet virtually on Tuesday morning to discuss a potential release of strategic oil reserves.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 4.15% from Monday’s 4.11%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices declined $8.95 to $85.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $93.00 to $5,196.70 U.S. an ounce.
