U.S. markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday amid renewed weakness in technology stocks. Investors also awaited the release of U.S. inflation data for fresh signals regarding the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. However, traders largely overlooked President Donald Trump’s remarks that the U.S. and Iran could reach a peace agreement within two or three days. Trump also said that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen ‘immediately’ once an agreement is reached. Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing home sales in the U.S. rose much more than expected in May. NAR said existing home sales surged by 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.17 million in May after climbing by 0.8 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 4.04 million in April. Street had expected existing home sales to jump by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.08 million from the 4.02 million originally reported for the previous month.
On the sectoral front, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ending down 1.9 percent after surging 5.6 percent in the previous session. Computer hardware, networking, and software stocks also witnessed significant selling pressure. Meanwhile, airline stocks benefited from the sharp drop in crude oil prices, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index jumping 3.7 percent. Housing stocks also posted strong gains, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index higher by 3.6 percent.
Nasdaq decreased 250.84 points or 0.97 percent to 25,678.822, S&P 500 declined 19.08 points or 0.26 percent to 7,386.65, while Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 86.1 points or 0.17 percent to 50,872.11.
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