-- US equity indexes fell on Tuesday, while crude oil futures jumped as President Donald Trump reportedly extended the Iran ceasefire deal until Tehran submits a "unified proposal" to end the war.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 24,334.81, with the S&P 500 down 0.6% to 7,064.01 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 0.6% to 49,149.38. All three gauges traded higher earlier in the session. All sectors except energy fell. Real estate, utilities, and industrials led the decliners.
Trump said he has extended the ceasefire until Tehran submits a proposal to end the conflict permanently, CNN reported late Tuesday. The ceasefire was due to expire on Wednesday evening ET. Trump said he will continue the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump said the extension was warranted as Tehran's government is "seriously fractured," CNBC reported.
Vice President JD Vance was set to leave Tuesday morning for Pakistan, the expected location for the US-Iran talks, but his trip has been put on hold, CNN reported. The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has contributed to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding a second round of talks, CNN cited sources as saying.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures climbed 2.8% to $92.13, and Brent crude futures advanced 1.6% to $96.98.
Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year up 4.8 basis points to 4.3% and the two-year climbed 6.9 basis points to 3.79%.
Gold futures declined 2.3% to $4,718.1 and silver futures dropped 4.7% to $76.28.
In economic news, US retail sales rose 1.7% in March, above the 1.4% increase expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey and following the previous month's revised 0.7% gain. Removing both motor vehicles and a 15.5% surge in gasoline station sales, retail sales were up 0.6% in March, the same as in February.
Pending home sales rose by 1.5% in March, above the 0.5% increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a 2.5% increase in February, according to the National Association of Realtors. The monthly sales index was down 1.1% from March 2025.
In company news, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) raised its full-year earnings outlook on Tuesday, as the health insurance giant recorded an unexpected annual increase in its Q1 results. Shares jumped 7%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Dow.
D.R. Horton's (DHI) fiscal Q2 results came in better than expected, although the homebuilder tempered its full-year revenue outlook. Shares advanced 5.8%, among the S&P 500's outperformers.
Moody's (MCO) said Tuesday that it is deepening its partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) by embedding its credit intelligence into Microsoft 365 Copilot and other AI-driven enterprise tools, expanding its presence across financial workflows. Shares of Microsoft rose 1.5%, among the Dow's leaders.
Apple (AAPL) shares fell 2.5%, among the Dow's laggards, a day after the company said that Tim Cook will become executive chairman after a nearly 15-year stint as chief executive officer, effective Sept 1.