Tuesday was a down day for US equities as investors awaited crucial inflation data for greater insight into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy plans.
The April data for the consumer price index is expected on Wednesday.
At 4,119.17, the S&P 500 dropped 18.95 points, or 0.46 percent. At 33,561.81, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 56.88 points, or 0.17 percent. At 12,179.55, the Nasdaq Composite fell 77.36 points, or 0.63 percent.
The US dollar rose from 135,15 Japanese yen to 135,17 Japanese yen. The euro fell from $1.1007 to $1.0969.
The yield on 10-year Treasury securities rose by 2 basis points to 3.53 percent.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the government’s debt limit could be reached by the beginning of June.
Canada
Tuesday was a day of no change for the S&P/TSX stock index.
Europe
Tuesday’s decline in European equities followed a slew of disappointing corporate earnings.
The STOXX 600 index for all of Europe closed 0.3% lower.
The FTSE 100 index declined 0.2% to 7,764.09. The German DAX closed unchanged. The CAC 40 declined 0.6% to 7,397.17.
In response to a downgrade in its credit rating, the stock price of Swedish real estate firm SBB plummeted by 24.2% after the company announced it would suspend dividend payments and cancel a planned stock offering.
On Thursday, the Bank of England will disclose its monetary policy decision.
Asia
The majority of Asian stock markets declined on Tuesday after data revealed a steeper-than-anticipated decline in Chinese imports.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 2.1% at 19,867.58. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.1% to 3,357.67 in China. The South Korean Kospi index declined 3.15 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,510.06.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1% at 29,242.82.
The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia fell 0.2% to 7,264.1. The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index in New Zealand fell 0.4% to 11,889.61.
Oil prices
On Tuesday, Brent crude for July delivery rose 43 cents to $77.44 per barrel. The price of US crude oil for June delivery increased by 55 cents to $73.71 per barrel.
Bullion
Gold for June delivery increased $9.70 per ounce to $2,042.90. Silver for delivery in July increased by 7 cents to $25.90 per ounce.