Stocks Start Lower on Syria Tension

U.S. stocks began sharply lower on Tuesday amid concerns the U.S. could begin military action against Syria. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average lately fell 67.11 points, or 0.45%, to 14,879.35. The S&P 500 index lost 12.61 points, or 0.76%,
to 1,644.17. The Nasdaq Composite declined 32.54 points, or 0.89%, to 3,625.03.

Syria’s foreign minister on Tuesday said the country would use “all means available” to defend itself in the event of a
U.S. strike. This comes a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there was no doubt the Assad regime’s
military had used chemical weapons against civilians last week. See: 5 quick links on the Syria conflict.

U.S. single-family home prices rose in June though the pace of gains slowed slightly. The S&P/Case Shiller composite
index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, just shy of economists’ forecast for a 1
percent increase. Prices rose 1 percent in May.

Tiffany & Co’s (NYSE:TIF) strong sales in China and higher prices helped mitigate disappointing business in its home
market in the second quarter, leading the U.S. jeweler on Tuesday to raise its profit forecast for the year. Its global
sales rose 4.4 percent to $925.9 million in the second quarter ended July 31.