US markets settle lower on Tuesday

21 Jun 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Tuesday as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to their best levels in over a year last week. Further, traders looked ahead to congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Powell is due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Traders may pay close attention to Powell's remarks, looking for additional clues about the outlook for rates after the Fed signaled further rate hikes last week. on the sectoral front, Gold stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 4.0 percent to a three-month closing low. The sell-off by gold stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery tumbling $23.50 to $1,947.70 an ounce.

On the economic data front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed new residential construction in the U.S. unexpectedly skyrocketed in the month of May. The Commerce Department said housing starts soared by 21.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.631 million in May after tumbling by 2.9 percent to a revised rate of 1.340 million in April. Street had expected housing starts to edge down to a rate of 1.400 million from the 1.401 million originally reported for the previous month. The report said building permits also surged by 5.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.491 million in May after slumping by 1.4 percent to a revised rate of 1.417 million in April. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to rise to a rate of 1.423 million from the 1.416 million originally reported for the previous month.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 245.25 points or 0.72 percent to 34,053.87, Nasdaq lost 22.28 points or 0.16 percent to 13,667.29 and S&P 500 was down by 20.88 points or 0.47 percent to 4,388.71.


© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×