In today's trading session, US benchmark equity indexes experienced declines as traders analyzed the latest round of corporate earnings reports while oil prices witnessed a significant drop. The Nasdaq Composite index reported a decrease of 1% to settle at 18,320.4 by midday on Tuesday. Concurrently, the S&P 500 index declined by 0.5%, landing at 5,828.7, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.4% to 42,905.5.
Among various sectors, the energy sector faced the steepest decline, reflecting the ongoing volatility in oil prices, while the real estate sector managed to lead the gainers in a stark contrast. In the realm of corporate news, shares of ASML Holdings N.V. faced a substantial downturn of nearly 17%, marking it as the worst performer on the Nasdaq.
This decline was driven by concerns regarding the company's fiscal 2025 sales outlook, which fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Additionally, ASML preemptively published its fiscal third-quarter results ahead of schedule to maintain transparency after an erroneous publication of information on its website. Another significant player in the market, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, revised its full-year earnings outlook, indicating a narrower range due to a higher-than-anticipated impact stemming from business disruptions related to a cybersecurity incident earlier this year.
Consequently, the shares of the health insurer took a hit, falling by 6.7%, the most significant decline seen on the Dow index. Conversely, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. emerged as the standout performer on the S&P 500, soaring by 12% following the release of its fiscal fourth-quarter results that surpassed market expectations. In addition, major companies including United Airlines Holdings, Inc., Omnicom Group Inc., and J.B.
Hunt Transport Services Inc. are set to unveil their earnings results post Tuesday's closing bell, contributing to the anticipatory atmosphere in the market. On the commodities front, West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded down by 4.6%, priced at $70.44 per barrel during the intraday session, following reports indicating that Israel does not intend to target Iranian oil facilities.
This sentiment further amplified the declines in oil prices, which were already impacted by the International Energy Agency's recent report reducing its global oil demand growth outlook for 2024, primarily due to sluggish demand from China. This aligns with the recent adjustments made by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which cut its global oil demand projections for both 2024 and 2025 while keeping supply estimates unchanged. Furthermore, in the bond market, the US 10-year yield saw a reduction of 3.2 basis points, settling at 4.04% during intraday trading, while the two-year rate observed a slight increase of 2.1 basis points to 3.96%.
Last month, the Federal Reserve implemented a 50 basis point reduction in its benchmark lending rate, marking its first cut since March 2020, after a period of tightening monetary policy that commenced in March 2022 and persisted until July 2023, aimed at combating inflation. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly provided insights into the recent policy adjustments, labeling the September recalibration as a 'right-sizing' initiative.
"Even with this adjustment, policy remains restrictive, exerting additional downward pressure on inflation to ensure it reaches 2%," Daly expressed. In the precious metals market, gold prices appreciated by 0.6%, reaching $2,680.70 per troy ounce, while silver saw an uptick of 1.5% to $31.77 per ounce, reflecting ongoing investor interest in safe-haven assets..