Stocks Edged Lower ahead of Powell Speech

U.S. stocks edged lower in the early trading on Tuesday ahead of commentary from several Federal Reserve officials scheduled to speak throughout the day Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 39.07 points, or 0.15%, to 26,688.47. The S&P 500 lost 6.14 points, or 0.21%, to 2,939.21. The Nasdaq Composite declined 26.76 points, or 0.33%, to 7,978.93.

Oil prices, trading at multiweek highs in recent sessions, cooled on Tuesday, although heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran remained front of mind for the energy market. August West Texas Intermediate crude fell 33 cents, or 0.6%, to $57.57 a barrel. August Brent crude slipped 40 cents, or 0.6%, at $64.46 a barrel.

Five Fed speakers will give public remarks Tuesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on the economic outlook and monetary policy in New York at 1 p.m. poised to be a focal point.

Home price gains in the U.S. fell in April — marking the 13th consecutive month of slowing growth. Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index posted a 3.5% year-over-year increase in April, down from 3.7% in March.

Allergan, The maker of Botox, will be bought by Abbvie in a cash and stock deal valued at about $63 billion, the companies announced Tuesday. The purchase price represents a 45% premium to Allergan’s closing price on Monday.

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