The US markets closed lower on Tuesday, reversing earlier gains as an early rally in financial, tech and energy stocks fizzled amid tough talk from President Donald Trump on North Korea. Trump told that North Korea would be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen should it continue to threaten the US. That followed reports earlier in the day that North Korea has successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead that could fit inside a missile.
On the economy front, sentiment among small-business owners skyrocketed in July as customer demand improved, in spite of continued gridlock in Washington. The closely-watched sentiment gauge from the National Federation of Independent Business rose 1.6 points to 105.2. That snapped a five-month streak of readings that either declined or remained the same, and easily beat the consensus forecast for a decline to 103.2. The jump in the July survey reflected better views of the labor market: owners reported having more open positions now as well as plans to hire more in the future. The number of job openings rose to a fresh record in June while hiring decreased, evidence of the difficulties companies are having finding suitable employees. The Labor Department reported that openings vaulted to 6.16 million from 5.7 million in May. Companies in both surveys and reports like the JOLTS say they’re having trouble finding employees with enough skills. Average hourly pay has been growing at roughly a 2.5% clip, slower than the 3% to 4% growth more typically seen in expansions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 33.08 points or 0.15 percent to 22,085.34, the Nasdaq dropped 13.31 points or 0.21 percent to 6,370.46, while the S&P 500 edged lower by 5.99 points or 0.24 percent to 2,474.92.