Stocks Ended Lower on Escalating North Korean Tensions

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday as heightened geopolitical tensions chased investors away from equities that are deemed riskier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 36.64 points, or 0.17%, to 22,048.70. The S&P 500 slid 0.90 point, or 0.04%, to 2,474.02. The Nasdaq Composite shed 18.13 points, or 0.28%, to 6,352.33.

Oil futures finished higher Wednesday after U.S. government data showed a sharp decline in crude inventory. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September rose 39 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $49.56 a barrel. October Brent crude gained 56 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $52.70.

U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 6.5 million barrels to 1.15 billion barrels while gasoline inventories rose 3.4 million barrels to 231.1 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 4, the Energy Information Administration said.