Stocks Ended Mostly Lower on Trade News

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday, following a report that some U.S. officials are worrying China may renege on pledges it made with the U.S. around trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 26.72 points, or 0.10%, to 25,887.38. The S&P 500 slipped 0.37 point, or 0.01%, to 2,832.57. The Nasdaq Composite rose 9.47 points, or 0.12%, to 7,723.95.

Oil futures held ground near multimonth highs on Tuesday with major global producers outside the U.S. expected to continue to keep a lid on output.April West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 6 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $59.03 a barrel. May Brent crude climbed by 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $67.61 a barrel.

“Some U.S. officials are concerned that China is pushing back against American demands in trade talks as progress slows toward a deal that could give President Donald Trump a boost for his 2020 reelection bid, according to people familiar with the talks,” Bloomberg reported Tuesday afternoon.

Package delivery company FedEx Corp missed analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit and cut its full-year earnings per share forecast for the second time. The company’s adjusted net income fell to $797 million, or $3.03 per diluted share, in the third quarter ended Feb. 28, from $1.02 billion, or $3.72 per share, a year earlier. Total revenue rose nearly 3 percent to about $17 billion. The company cut its fiscal 2019 adjusted earnings per share forecast to a range of $15.10 to $15.90, from $15.50 to $16.60 previously.