Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, erasing some gains from late last week as a rapid decline in crude futures and a sell-off in Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) shares weighed on the major indices.
On Tuesday afternoon, crude futures turned negative for the session after UAE oil minister Suhail Al Mazroui said the oil market has been correcting upwards of late and that he is happy with the market's current state. Marzoui's comments come ahead of a closely-watched OPEC meeting on Thursday in Vienna. OPEC, the world's largest oil cartel, is widely unexpected to freeze production at January levels at the semi-annual meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86.09 or 0.48% to 17,787.13, while the S&P 500 Composite index lost 2.11 or 0.10% to 2,096.95 on a bearish day for stocks. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, gained 14.55 or 0.29% to 4,948.06, amid a strong performance among semiconductor sectors. On the S&P 500, five of 10 sectors closed in the red as stocks in the Energy, Basic Materials and Consumer Goods industries lagged. Stocks in the Utilities and Telecommunications sectors led.
For the month of May, the Dow closed slightly higher marking its fourth consecutive month of monthly gains. The S&P 500 rose by 1% in May, while technology surged on the month by approximately 5%.
The top performer on the Dow was VZ Holding AG (SIX:VZN), which added 0.17 or 0.34% to 50.79. On Friday, the leading wireless service provider agreed on terms of a comprehensive deal with two labor unions, halting a six-week labor strike that involved 36,000 workers. The worst performer was Boeing, which fell 2.99 or 2.31% to 126.23. It came in response to reports that Russia and China are set to produce a new wide-body passenger aircraft by the end of June. The initiative is part of a $13 billion deal signed by Russia president Vladimir Putin in a 2014 summit with China and could provide Boeing (NYSE:BA) with added competition in the Far East.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX), which added 0.87 or 3.99% to 22.53. Despite the rally, shares in the California-based data storage company are still down by more than 60% over the last year. The worst performer was Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU), which plunged 5.01 or 2.71% to 180.01. Shares in the Chinese internet search engine fell sharply, amid reports that American Deposit Receipts or ADRs such as Baidu.com and BABA could be susceptible to manipulative trade practices.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN), which rose 0.61 or 4.67% to 13.67, despite the mild losses in oil futures. Over the last 52 weeks, shares in Southwestern Energy are still down more than 50%. The worst performer was Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ), which fell 4.50 or 2.85% to 153.33.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1,625-1,414 margin.