Stocks Ended Lower, Oil Settled Higher

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as market sentiment turned jittery ahead of major political and economic headlines expected on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 47.81 points, or 0.23%, to 21,136.23. The S&P 500 dropped 6.77 points, or 0.28%, to 2,429.33. The Nasdaq Composite slid 20.63 points, or 0.33%, to 6,275.06.

Oil staged a rebound to settle higher on Tuesday, as traders bet that U.S. government data will show a ninth consecutive weekly decline in crude supplies. July West Texas Intermediate crude added 79 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $48.19 a barrel. August Brent crude rose 65 cents, or 1.3%, to $50.12 a barrel.

The latest job openings and labor turnover survey — known as the JOLTS report — released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday showed that in April there were 6.04 million jobs open in the U.S. In the same month last year there were 5.64 million jobs open.

Health insurer Anthem said Tuesday it will effectively exit its Obamacare individual plan business in Ohio, leaving potentially 18 counties in the Buckeye State with no insurer selling plans in 2018.