Nasdaq Composite Falls to 5-Week Low Amid Tech Pullback
US equities fell Tuesday, with technology stocks pulling back following a jump in the previous session, sending the Nasdaq Composite to its lowest close in five weeks.The tech-heavy index shed 1% to 25,678.8, its lowest finish since May 5. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 7,386.7, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 50,872.1 after a two-day decline.Barring tech and energy, all sectors were in the green, led by real estate.Salesforce (CRM) shares fell 3.9%, the worst performer on the Dow. The cloud-based customer relationship management platform provider implemented a fresh round of job cuts, Business Insider reported Tuesday.Apple (AAPL) dropped 3.6% and followed Salesforce on the Dow, while Cisco Systems (CSCO) declined 3.1%, the third worst performer on the index.Super Micro Computer (SMCI) slumped 7.6%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500. Also under pressure were major tech names such as Microsoft (MSFT), IBM (IBM), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Dell Technologies (DELL).Outside tech, J.M. Smucker (SJM) reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results, while the food producer's full-year earnings outlook came in above Wall Street's estimates at the midpoint. The stock jumped 10%, the best performer on the S&P 500.Boeing (BA) fell behind European rival Airbus in both aircraft deliveries and orders for May, even as the US planemaker's deliveries rose sequentially and annually. The stock fell 0.7%.US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran shot down an American military helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night. He said the two pilots were unharmed, but the US must "respond to this attack."Trump told reporters in New York on Monday that a diplomatic resolution to the Middle East conflict could be reached in "two or three days," CNBC reported. The crucial Strait of Hormuz, which remains effective shut, would reopen "immediately" after the deal, Trump reportedly said.Trump has made similar claims on a number of occasions in the past.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 3.1% at $88.46 a barrel in Tuesday late-afternoon trade, while Brent fell 2.7% to $91.72.The global crude market has already lost 1 billion barrels of supply since the Iran war began at the end of February, Rystad Energy said in a note."Cumulative losses have now reached 1 billion barrels and are on track to nearly double by year-end under our base case, which still assumes a narrow US-Iran deal in June and a phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz from mid-July," Aditya Saraswat, Middle East and North Africa research director at Rystad, said in a note.US Treasury yields were lower, with the 10-year rate last down four basis points at 4.53%, and the two-year rate falling 3.1 basis points to 4.14%.In economic news, US existing home sales increased to the highest level since December in May, a move that is expected to bode well for the economy, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.The US trade deficit narrowed in April as export growth outpaced an increase in imports, government data showed Tuesday.Gold was down 1.9% at $4,282.40 per troy ounce, while silver shed 4.7% to $65.39 per ounce.
