LONDON: U.S. stocks ended Tuesday slightly lower, as earlier gains faded by the end of the trading session. Investors remained cautious ahead of the important jobs report on Friday and a looming deadline for Greece and its lenders to find a solution to the country’s debt crisis.
News that Greece’s creditors have reached a consensus on the terms of a proposal that would be presented to the Greek government as well as positive inflation data sent the euro soaring against the dollar. A weaker dollar, in turn, boosted oil prices.
The S&P 500 SPX, -0.10% closed 2.13 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,109.60, with five of its 10 main sectors ending higher. Energy and materials stocks led the gains, boosted by rising oil prices, but utilities sold off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.16% lost 28.43 points, or 0.2%, to 18,011.94. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.13% finished the day down 6.40 points, or 0.1%, to 5,076.52.
Investors assessed factory orders data, which fell short of expectations, falling for the eighth time in nine months, as well as monthly car sales.
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said the moves over the past few days have been tepid and mostly due to lack of significant news.
“Stock investors are simply waiting for labor market data, beginning from ADP on Wednesday and official jobs report on Friday,” Cieszynski said.
