Stocks Ended Higher as Fear Over North Korea Dissipated

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, after recovering from steep early losses triggered by fears that hostilities in the Korean Peninsula could escalate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.97 points, or 0.26%, to 21,865.37. The S&P 500 added 2.06 points, or 0.08%, to 2,446.30. The Nasdaq Composite gained 18.87 points, or 0.30%, to 6,301.89.

U.S. oil prices on Tuesday settled at their lowest level in more than a month as refinery outages in the wake of Hurricane Harvey continued to spark fears of diminished demand for U.S. oil. October WTI crude fell 13 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $46.44 a barrel. October Brent oil rose 11 cents, or 0.2%, at $52 a barrel.

Best Buy (BBY) early Tuesday reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter sales and earnings. Best Buy reported same-store sales growth of 5.4% in its fiscal second quarter, beating expectations of 2.2%. For the current quarter, Best Buy expects to earn 78 cents a share, up 26%, on sales of $9.35 billion, up 4.5%, based on the midpoint of its guidance.

Orosur Mining Inc. (OROXF) on Tuesday reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $1.5 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier. The gold mining company posted revenue of $12 million in the period. For the year, the company reported net income of $2.6 million, or 3 cents per share, swinging to a profit in the period. Revenue was reported as $44.2 million.