Major indices end near session lows
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, 27 June 2017 with major indexes ending near session lows after Senate Republicans delayed a vote on health care legislation and as losses for technology shares deepened. Equities sold off into the closing bell, leaving the major averages at their worst marks of the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 98.89 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 21,310.66. The S&P 500 slid 19.69 points, or 0.8%, to close at 2,419.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index which is heavily weighted toward the technology sector, skidded 100.53 points, or 1.6% to 6,146.62.
While the Nasdaq traded lower throughout the session, pressured by the latest day of weakness in the technology space, the Dow and S&P had move into modestly positive territory in midday trading. However, losses accelerated after Republican Senate leaders postponed a vote on a controversial health-care bill that would replace Obamacare until after the July 4 holiday.
Tuesday marked the second straight daily decline for the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 has fallen in four of the past six sessions while the Dow has dropped in five of the past six.
There was a notable jump in long-term rates on Tuesday as sovereign bond markets came under selling pressure in the wake of a morning remark from ECB President Mario Draghi that the threat of deflation is gone. The yield on the 10-yr Treasury note jumped six basis points to 2.20%, which contributed partly to the selling activity in richly-valued technology stocks. However, the heavily-weighted financial sector benefited from the activity in the Treasury market.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.9% and weakness in the greenback tends to boost demand for dollar-priced commodities from investors using another currency.
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Bullion prices ended higher at Comex on Tuesday, 27 June 2017. Gold edged higher on Tuesday to notch its fourth gain in five sessions as the dollar dropped and U.S. equities weakened, drawing investor attention to the precious metal. Prices finished off the day's best levels, however, losing ground as Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen started speaking about global economic issues at an event in London in the minutes ahead of gold's price settlement.
August gold added 50 cents, or less than 0.05%, to settle at $1,246.90 an ounce after touching an earlier high of $1,253.80. September silver rose 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $16.651 an ounce after trading as high as $16.73.
Crude-oil prices advanced on Tuesday, 27 June 2017 with the commodity logging its fourth gain in a row as traders braced for a possible decline in U.S. supplies.
August West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 86 cents, or 2%, to settle at $44.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent oil for August delivery gained 82 cents, or 1.8%, to $46.65 a barrel.
On Wednesday, investors will receive the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index and May Pending Home Sales (consensus 0.5%). The two reports will be released at 7:00 ET and 10:00 ET, respectively.
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