U.S. Stocks Close Tuesday with Mixed Results

(MENAFN) U.S. equities finished Tuesday on an uneven note, with investors holding their breath over a potential last-minute diplomatic breakthrough with Iran that never fully materialized before the closing bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.18 percent to settle at 46,584.46, while the S&P 500 edged up a modest 0.08 percent to close at 6,616.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index posted a marginal gain of 0.1 percent, finishing at 22,017.85.

Of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors, six ended in positive territory. Communication services and energy topped the leaderboard, advancing 1.04 percent and 0.78 percent, respectively. Consumer staples bore the steepest losses, tumbling 1.76 percent, with consumer discretionary not far behind at minus 0.91 percent.

Oil markets remained elevated, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbing roughly 0.5 percent to trade above $112 per barrel. Brent crude — the international benchmark — settled at $109.27 per barrel.

A sobering consumer outlook added to the cautious mood. The New York Federal Reserve's March survey of consumer expectations revealed a growing share of U.S. households bracing for financial deterioration over the next 12 months, with respondents pointing to surging gas and food prices driven by the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Healthcare stocks surged after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services locked in a Medicare Advantage payment rate increase averaging nearly 2.5 percent for 2027 — a dramatic upgrade from the initially proposed 0.1 percent. Shares of UnitedHealth Group, CVS, and Humana all vaulted more than 6 percent on the news.

Broadcom emerged as one of the session's standout performers, climbing 6.21 percent after the chipmaker announced expanded artificial intelligence computing partnerships with Google and Anthropic. By contrast, Apple shed 2.07 percent amid reports of significant engineering hurdles confronting its long-anticipated foldable iPhone lineup.

The session's most dramatic single-stock move belonged to Universal Music Group, which rocketed 13.73 percent after reports revealed that billionaire investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management is exploring a potential acquisition of the music powerhouse — home to global superstars including Taylor Swift, Drake, and Bad Bunny.

With an 8 p.m. Eastern Time deadline looming and no ceasefire confirmation in hand, traders kept one eye firmly fixed on the Middle East, where further escalation threatened to send energy prices even higher in the days ahead.

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