US markets closed in red on Tuesday as rising crude oil prices due to renewed Middle East tensions pushed up inflation concerns, indicating the possibility of a tighter monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Traders also braced for minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s June meeting for guidance on the monetary policy outlook. On the economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed the US trade deficit widened sharply to $77.6 billion in May 2026 from a revised $54.6 billion in April, broadly in line with market expectations of a $78.5 billion shortfall. The gap was the largest since March 2025, as imports climbed 3.3% to $395.3 billion, their highest level in more than a year. The increase was driven primarily by higher purchases of consumer goods, particularly pharmaceutical preparations and cell phones, as well as crude oil and passenger cars. Meanwhile, exports fell 3.2% to $317.7 billion, weighed down by lower shipments of nonmonetary gold and other precious metals, computers and computer accessories, and consumer goods, particularly pharmaceutical preparations.
Also, the U.S. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) data revealed that US private employers added an average of 21,000 jobs per week in the four weeks ending June 20, 2026, a slight decline from the previous period’s 24,250 weekly gain. This marks the second consecutive week of slowing job growth, aligning with ADP’s June report showing private businesses added 98,000 jobs, the lowest in three months and below forecasts of 113,000.
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 130.76 points or 0.25 percent to 52,925.15, S&P 500 decreased 33.58 points or 0.45 percent to 7,503.85 and Nasdaq was down by 302.47 points or 1.16 percent to 25,818.69.
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