Stocks Opened Modestly Lower admid Geopolitical Jitters

U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Tuesday, as investors sought shelter in safe-haven assets such as gold amid mounting geopolitical tensions in Syria and North Korea. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dipped 57.78 points, or 0.28%, to 20,600.24. The S&P 500 lost 11.20 points, or 0.48%, to 2,345.96. The Nasdaq Composite fell 31.80 points, or 0.54%, to 5,849.12.

Crude oil edged back from a five-week high on Tuesday, as rising U.S. shale oil production weighed against support from tensions in the Middle East and production cuts in OPEC and other states. Brent crude was down 8 cents from its previous close at $55.90 per barrel at 1225 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell by 9 cents to $52.99 a barrel.

Comcast Corp. plans to introduce an online video service offering hit shows from its NBCUniversal TV networks in the next 12 to 18 months, an effort to compete with rivals Netflix Inc. and CBS Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.

Toshiba, the Japanese conglomerate, said Tuesday that there is “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern after it reported huge losses. Toshiba has been hammered by the collapse of its American nuclear business, Westinghouse Electric, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. last month.