A left field Karmic European Court ruling finding that Apple owes the Irish Government $14 billion and change in back taxes threw a wet blanket over Wall St, but gains in financials helped pare the decline.
The S&P 500 fell for the fourth time in five sessions, but was still within 1 percent of its record closing high set earlier this month.
Cyclical sectors, which are expected to perform better in an expanding economy, have taken the lead in the past few weeks as economic data paints a rosier picture of the U.S. economy.
Payrolls data on Friday could strengthen the case for higher U.S. interest rates, as has been hinted over the past week by Federal Reserve officials.
A bottoming out of bond yields has given support to bank stocks lately. The S&P 500 financial sector is up 1.8 percent this week.
"The economy is doing well, the labor market is still doing well, there's reasons to think (interest) rates have bottomed and that is good for financials," said Paul Zemsky, chief investment officer, Multi-Asset Strategies and Solutions at Voya Investment Management in New York. 1
DAX: + 1.1%
S&P: - .2%
Nasdaq: - .2%
Oil prices fell Tuesday, with Brent losing nearly 2 percent, as the dollar rallied and glut worries grew amid forecasts for higher U.S. crude stockpiles and Iran's remark that it was on target to reach peak production.
News that energy firms in the U.S. regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico had shut some 22 percent of crude oil equivalent output as a precaution to threats from a tropical storm limited some of the downside in crude prices. 2
Brent crude futures settled down 89 cents, or 1.8 percent, at $48.37 per barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 63 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $46.35.
Gold futures hit fresh two-month lows Tuesday afternoon, pressured by a muscular U.S. dollar and position squaring ahead of a key U.S. employment report at end of the week.
Gold came into U.S. hours with a softer tone, which analysts early in the day blamed on a stronger U.S. dollar as traders ponder whether the Federal Open Market Committee will hike U.S. interest rates this year. A number of Fed officials, including Chair Janet Yellen and Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, made hawkishly construed remarks at a central-bank symposium at Jackson Hole late last week. Then early Tuesday, Fischer told Bloomberg TV that the U.S. is “is very close to full employment.” 3
Gold: $1310
HUI: - 5.5%
AUD Gold: $1745
