(Updates with market moves at the end of the day, and other changes, if any.)
US stocks fell for a second straight session on Tuesday and oil prices extended their rally, as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz appeared increasingly uncertain.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6% to 26,445.45. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each lost 0.3% to settle at 7,728.20 and 53,791.85, respectively. Most sectors sectors were in the red, led by communication services.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.6% at $83.41 a barrel in Tuesday late-afternoon trade, while Brent advanced 1.6% to $89.11. The US crude oil benchmark was on track for its fourth consecutive day of gains, while Brent is poised to stretch its rally to a fifth session.
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed as long as the US does not accept Tehran's conditions, Reuters reported.
Previously, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News that the US and Iran were close to "some sort of an arrangement."
Iran has reportedly laid out new terms for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including a permanent end to the war against Tehran and its allies, as well as demanding full compensation for war damages. In response, US President Donald Trump on Monday demanded compensation for those he claimed were killed and wounded by Iran's attacks.
Trump recently indicated to the media that he's prepared to exert greater economic pressure on Iran instead of launching another military attack.
"Uncertainty over a US-Iran deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz has grown after Trump demanded compensation for victims of Iranian-backed conflicts, responding to Tehran's reparations demands," Saxo Bank said Tuesday in a report. "The tougher stance lowers chances of a near-term agreement and keeps markets wary, as Iran ties any Hormuz deal with Oman to a broader accord with the US and Trump opts for economic pressure over new strikes."
A missile struck a Saudi commercial vessel while transiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, CNN reported Tuesday, citing Yemeni officials and shipping sources. That strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. It is an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz.
US Treasury yields were lower intraday, with the two-year rate down 1.5 basis points at 4.22% and the 10-year rate shedding less than a basis point to 4.69%.
In company news, Nvidia (NVDA) said it partnered with six major financial institutions to raise more than $500 billion in third-party capital for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The tech bellwether signed memorandums of understanding with Apollo (APO), BlackRock (BLK), Blackstone (BX), Brookfield (BN), Goldman Sachs (GS) and KKR (KKR) to establish independent compute financing platforms, it said late Monday.
KKR shares jumped 6.9%, the best performer on the S&P 500. Apollo advanced 6.3%, the third-biggest gain on the index. Blackstone rose 3.9%, while BlackRock and Brookfield were also higher. Goldman and Nvidia ended little changed.
AppLovin (APP) slumped 6%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, following a rating downgrade from BofA Securities.
Sea (SE) reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter revenue as the Singapore-based company logged sharp annual gains in its e-commerce platform and the digital financial services business. Its US-listed shares jumped nearly 15%.
In economic news, existing home sales in the US declined more than expected last month as rising prices and mortgage rates continued to weigh on homebuying activity, data from the National Association of Realtors showed.
Spot gold fell 0.5% to $4,369.79 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 0.5% to $64.92.
