US close: Stocks retreat as crude climbs, trade frictions intensify

(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed lower on Tuesday as a shortened trading week began with investors focused on rising geopolitical and trade tensions, while a renewed surge in oil prices added to inflation worries.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.18% at 52,786.07, while the S&P 500 shed 0.58% to 7,673.52 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.32% softer at 26,421.41.

The Dow closed 628.18 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded ahead of the Labor Day long weekend.

Stocks headed south as crude extended its recent rally, with Brent up 0.95% at $97.92 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate climbing 1.27% to $94.21 a barrel after the US and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend. The jump in energy prices has also pushed Treasury yields higher, with the benchmark 10year note hitting its strongest level since November 2023 last week.

Traders were also zeroed in on fresh tensions between Washington and Ottawa as Canada's retaliatory tariffs on around $20bn of US goods came into effect on Tuesday, while Donald Trump warned that Bombardier would be barred from selling aircraft in the US unless production is moved stateside. "NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!" Trump said on social media.

On the macro front, the National Federation of Independent Business' US small business optimism index slipped to 98.7 in August, down from 99.8 in July, undershooting forecasts for a softer decline to 99.3. Actual sales weakened, with a net 9% of owners reporting higher nominal sales over the past three months - the lowest reading since November 2025. Reports of inflation as the single most important problem rose to 16%, now tied with taxes as the secondmost cited issue. Concerns around labour quality or availability and labour costs eased, with labourcost worries falling to their lowest level since March 2021, while expectations for better business conditions deteriorated.

In the corporate space, GameStop reported its strongest ever secondquarter operating performance, with operating income hitting $160.2m, the highest Q2 figure in the company's history. Collectibles continued to drive growth, with net sales surging 57% yearonyear to $356.3m, now accounting for 45.1% of total revenue. GameStop also lifted its FY26 adjusted underlying earnings outlook to more than $650m, reflecting the stronger profitability trends seen so far this year.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $104.47 12.25%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $822.48 1.05%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $400.84 0.93%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $209.80 0.58%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.41 0.54%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.57 0.44%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $88.36 0.33%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $255.81 0.05%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $393.17 -10.68%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $249.12 -3.90%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $316.22 -3.20%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $493.95 -2.41%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $313.70 -2.29%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $269.12 -2.22%

Visa Inc. (V) $368.64 -1.71%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $353.51 -1.43%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $148.46 -1.24%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $232.09 -1.19%

S&P 500 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $104.47 12.25%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $505.74 8.60%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $904.38 7.82%

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $56.03 7.75%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $165.96 7.56%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $320.42 5.49%

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $76.62 5.35%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $188.98 4.96%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $75.38 4.51%

Edison International (EIX) $59.33 4.51%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $393.17 -10.68%

Stryker Corp. (SYK) $276.43 -8.81%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $39.21 -7.91%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $274.55 -7.74%

Gartner Inc. (IT) $172.59 -7.42%

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $180.30 -6.70%

H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $45.89 -6.46%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $76.77 -6.42%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $124.04 -6.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $104.47 12.25%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $904.38 7.82%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $320.42 5.49%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $188.98 4.96%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $75.38 4.51%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $472.79 4.25%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $477.30 4.10%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $174.09 3.85%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,764.85 3.78%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $368.56 3.69%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $393.17 -10.68%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $274.55 -7.74%

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $180.30 -6.70%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $76.77 -6.42%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $124.04 -6.00%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $186.28 -5.66%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $284.11 -5.52%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $92.55 -4.96%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $350.16 -4.79%