Equities in the United States settled mostly lower on Tuesday’s trading session following the announcement of North Korean ambassador that it will continue its nuclear test.
Rand Corp’s senior defense analyst Bruce Bennett says that North Korea doesn’t have a direct way of striking United States other than Special Forces teams. He added that Asian regions may be affected with the sixth nuclear test.
The S&P 500 lost more than 2.46 points and settles at 2,396.92 on the opening bell, but closed the session lower by 0.1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial average dropped 74.24 points and finishes at 20,975.78, Nike and Chevron contribute to the losses of the 30-stock index. Meanwhile the Nasdaq composite ended slightly higher by 0.29 percent.
However, equities in the U.S. were already flat even before the North Korean ambassador’s interview on Sky News. At the same time, investors are preparing themselves before the earnings season concludes. The Earnings Scout’s CEO Nick Raich says the figures from Q1 were outstanding and it is possible that the market already reached the top earnings growth for the year.
Almost 75 percent of the S&P 500 companies that posted on Friday showed higher than expected numbers, and 66 percent had surpassed sales estimates. Overall, 83 percent of S&P 500 components had released on the prior day, this includes Disney, Priceline and News Corp.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) traded below 10 percent on Tuesday. After the first round of the presidential election in France, the VIX has already declined as much as 10 percent and subsequently fell 25 percent on April 24. The race settled with Emmanuel Macron defeating Marine Le Pen last Sunday.