By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks recovered on Tuesday from steep early losses brought by fears of escalation of hostilities in the Korean Peninsula, with major indexes steadily climbing into positive territory.
The S&P 500 fell as much as 0.66 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that all options are on the table for the United States to respond to North Korea's firing of a ballistic missile over a Japanese island into the sea in a new show of force.
"When the President says 'All options are on the table,' the best strategy for investors is sometimes to do nothing," said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
Market analysts were relieved that the rift did not escalate further, with Trump's focus on the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to strike Texas in 50 years when it made landfall last week.
"While it's possible all these unfortunate events can add up to something more consequential, the economy is pretty darn big and resilient," Jacobsen said.
The storm shuttered refineries across the U.S. energy hub in Texas but stocks in the energy sector were little changed, with declines in oil services companies mostly offset by gains in refiners and some producers.
Ernesto Ramos, head of equities at BMO Global Asset Management in Chicago, described the market reaction to the flooding in Houston and surrounding areas as a "very stock specific situation."
Shares of insurers fell on uncertainty over their liabilities. An index of industry stocks (KIX) dropped 0.5 percent to its lowest in two months.
In late trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 61.02 points, or 0.28 percent, to 21,869.42, the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 3 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,447.24 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) added 23.52 points, or 0.37 percent, to 6,306.53.
Best Buy (N:BBY) tumbled 11.3 percent to $55.38 after it warned that its strong quarterly sales performance should not be seen as a new normal.
United Technologies (N:UTX) rose 2.3 percent to $118.04 as it made progress in talks to acquire aircraft component manufacturer Rockwell Collins Inc (N:COL) as it seeks to bulk up its aerospace business. Rockwell's shares rose 1.9 percent to $130.43.
Nike (N:NKE) fell 2.0 percent to $52.65 after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) cut its price target by $4, to $64.
Declining and advancing issues were about even on the NYSE; on Nasdaq, a 1.18-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
