Investing.com - U.S. stocks closed on a downbeat note Tuesday, despite opening positively, as market sentiment for new action by the European Central Bank to tackle the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone faded, while investors eyed the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting on Wednesday.
At the close of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.51%, the S&P 500 index gave back 0.35%, while the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 0.35%.
Sentiment improved after the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper said earlier that it could confirm weekend reports that the European Central Bank may set a cap on peripheral euro zone bond yields at its next policy meeting in September.
On Monday, the ECB dismissed the reports, saying it was “misleading” to report on decisions which have not yet been taken.
Speculation over the possibility of ECB intervention saw Spanish borrowing costs fall at an auction of short-term government debt, with Madrid successful auctioning EUR4.5 billion of bills, the top end of the target range.
Market participants were also anticipating the minutes of the Fed’s August policy meeting, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.
Apple saw shares jump 1.29% after the tech giant became the most highly valued public company ever by reaching USD665.15 on Monday, giving the company a market value of USD623.52 billion.
Separately, chief executives of Apple and Samsung Electronics reportedly failed to settle their patent dispute, placing the final decision in the hands of a jury.
Financials stocks also added to gains, as U.S. lenders tracked their European counterparts sharply higher. Shares in JP Morgan surged 1.66% and Citigroup rallied 1.60%, while Bank of America and Goldman Sachs advanced 1.67% and 0.71%.
On the downside, Facebook shares tumbled 1.75%, after a regulatory filing showed that director Peter Thiel sold roughly USD400 million worth of shares in the Internet social networking company last week, cashing out most of his stake.
Elsewhere, Best Buy plunged 8.59% after the struggling consumer-electronics retailer posted a decline in same-store sales. On Monday, the company named Hubert Joly as its new CEO.
Meanwhile, founder Richard Schulze rejected an offer from the board to conduct due diligence in his attempt to take the company private at a valuation of more than USD8 billion.
Also in the retail sector, Urban Outfitters skyrocketed 15.66% after posting second- quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.97%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.94%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.79%.
All eyes are on the FOMC meeting minutes to be released Wednesday, as well as existing U.S. home sales data.