Dow Jones

The Dow inched higher on Tuesday as results from Walmart and Home Depot lifted the retail sector, while a slide in megacap growth stocks and signs of a slowing global economy weighed on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

Markets have sold off sharply this year on growing worries about an economic slowdown due to aggressive Fed policy moves aimed at reining in surging prices.

A positive first-quarter earnings season has been overshadowed by worries about the Ukraine war, soaring inflation, COVID-19 lockdown in China and aggressive policy tightening by central banks.

Across Asia, share indexes were a sea of red. The Nikkei lost 0.9%, Australian shares shed 2.5% and Korean stocks lost 2%.

Core inflation is actually seen rising by 0.4% in April, up from 0.3% the previous month, even as the annual pace dips a bit due to base effects.

The recent decision by OPEC and other major producers not to ramp up output has further strained global supplies.

Runaway gas prices are widely expected to ratchet up demand for crude, further spooking markets.

Beyond the Evergrande saga, Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services blamed the standoff over the US debt ceiling

Oil prices have bounced back strongly, and inched up despite the International Energy Agency saying global crude demand had dropped for three straight months

US stocks had dropped the last two sessions, with analysts pointing to a weak retail sales report amid the Delta variant

Wall Street's streak of five straight records for the Dow and S&P 500 indices ended with a thud

Crude prices rallied on Tuesday, with some analysts saying the worries over the hit to demand from the Delta variant have been overstated.

Oil prices were down by more than two percent on Monday.

British data showed unemployment dipped to 4.8 percent in the three months to the end of May from 5.0 percent in the three months to February.

The Fed has said repeatedly that stiff increases in consumer prices will be transitory, and so far the markets have largely accepted that argument.

US stocks ultimately recovered somewhat from their session lows, but all three major indices ended solidly down, with the Dow shedding 0.8 percent.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 finished lower, retreating from records, while the tech-rich Nasdaq edged to a second straight record.

Shares of Apple, Facebook and Amazon all climbed more than one percent, leading to a 0.9 percent jump in the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index to 14,161.35.

In currency markets, the pound was higher against its main rivals after the Scottish National Party fell short of an outright majority in UK regional elections.

The rise in yields on government bonds in the United States and other key economies last week sparked a market meltdown, which was exacerbated as traders sought to lock in gains.

All three major US indices fell sharply, but the tech-dominated Nasdaq was by far the weakest, sinking 3.5 percent.

Bitcoin topped $50,000 for the first time amid increased support from corporate heavyweights.

Bitcoin briefly pushed to a record-high of $48,215.83 after winning a huge boost Monday from news that Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla had invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency.

Investors worldwide appear to have set aside concerns over the pandemic for now, though it continues to cast a shadow as governments in some countries keep lockdowns in place.

The emergency US package is part of a larger spending bill that, with Trump's signature, will avoid a government shutdown on Tuesday.

Shares in Boeing jumped 6.0 percent, helping to lift the Dow on a mixed day for US equities.

The rally petered out on Tuesday, with the Dow closing 0.6 percent lower and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 also ending in the red.

While Trump is yet to concede, it is widely accepted that Biden will become the 46th president, removing a crucial hurdle for equity traders this year.

The greenback is sitting at its lowest levels against the yen since the dark days of March when the virus began battering the world economy

Wall Street's three main indexes ended lower and Asia followed.