Stocks faced another roadblock on Tuesday, halting the rally for yet another day, especially toward the end of the trading session. Shortly before the stock market closed, news broke that Vice President JD Vance’s trip to Pakistan for the peace talks had been scrapped. Iranian officials informed the U.S. that they would not attend the talks. This came less than 36 hours before the current ceasefire is set to end, making the outlook in the Middle East more dire than the market had anticipated. Brent crude oil breached $100 per barrel once again.
Stocks declined meaningfully by the end of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 293 points to 49,149. The NASDAQ lost 0.42% of its value, closing at 26,479. The S&P 500 retreated 0.63% to 7,064. Energy stocks benefited from today’s news with considerable gains, while the technology sector remained flat. All other sectors ended the day significantly lower.
The Treasury market also took a hit, partially because of risks from the oil market and partially because of the strong economic reports. The U.S. 5-year Treasury yield rose 6 basis points to 3.91%, and the 10-year yield rose 5 basis points to 4.3%. Gold also saw another sell-off and dipped below the 4,700 mark.
Today’s economic data showed that retail sales climbed the most in a year, suggesting that potentially larger-than-usual tax refunds supported spending despite high gas prices. Meanwhile, pending home sales meaningfully exceeded economic forecasts, as improving supply helped mitigate the impact of high borrowing costs
With the ceasefire deadline coming up tomorrow, we will be paying close attention to both sides of the U.S.-Iran conflict. Thank you for listening. This is Adams Wealth Advisors.