Stocks Slipped ahead of Trump Speech

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday ahead of President Donald Trump’s speech before both houses of Congress this evening. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.20 points, or 0.12%, to 20,812.24. The S&P 500 lost 6.11 points, or 0.26%, to 2,363.64. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 36.46 points, or 0.62%, to 5,825.44. All three benchmarks finished February for a fourth straight month of gains with the Dow industrials up 4.9%, the S&P 500 up 3.7%, and the Nasdaq gaining 3.8%.

Oil futures lost a few pennies on Tuesday, but notched a monthly gain for February as traders awaited data that may reveal a rise in U.S. crude inventories for an eighth week in a row. April West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 4 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $54.01 a barrel. April Brent crude lost 34 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $55.59 a barrel.

No. 1 U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) may return more money to shareholders than it earns over the next few years, it forecast on Tuesday, an encouraging sign for investors who have been waiting for richer dividends and share repurchases.