Stocks Ended Lower on British Worries

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as investors worry about the British financial system. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 108.75 points, or 0.61%, to 17,840.62. The S&P 500 gave up 14.40 points, or 0.68%, to 2,088.55. The Nasdaq Composite declined 39.67 points, or 0.82%, to 4,822.90.

Factory orders in the U.S. fell 1% in May after two straight gains, the government said Tuesday. Durable goods orders declined 2.3%. Demand for mining and energy-related equipment slid 5.8% following a 20.8% plunge in the prior month. Orders for computers were also weaker.

Oil prices tumbled nearly 5 percent on Tuesday. Brent futures settled down $2.14, or 4.3 percent, at $47.96 a barrel while U.S. crude fell $2.39, or 4.9 percent, to end at $46.60.

Treasury prices soared Tuesday, pushing yields to record lows. The 10-year treasury yield tumbled 7.9 basis points to 1.367%, an all-time low. And the 30-year treasury yield fell 10.7 basis points to 2.141%, also a record low, according to Tradeweb.

Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to report that earnings fell year-over-year in Q2, repeating a trend we haven’t seen since the financial crisis. Earnings season unofficially kicks off with Alcoa (AA), which is set to report its second quarter earnings on July 11. Early indications suggest there won’t be much to celebrate this time around.