NEW YORK, June 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, as tech stocks retreated and focus turned to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.64 percent to a record close of 51,999.67. The S&P 500 sank 0.57 percent to 7,511.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.15 percent to 26,376.34.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher, led by financials and utilities with gains of 1.49 percent and 0.69 percent, respectively. Technology and energy were the main laggards, declining 2.32 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively.
Markets continued to scrutinize the recently announced U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement. Although full details have yet to be released, U.S. officials indicated that the deal will reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic without tolls by Friday.
Oil prices fell sharply on the news. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery dropped 4.70 U.S. dollars, or 5.82 percent, to settle at 76.05 dollars per barrel. Brent crude for August delivery lost 4.21 dollars, or 5.06 percent, to settle at 78.96 dollars per barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
"If all of a sudden oil prices were to come down quickly, the headline inflation number will come down, but at the same time, it'll put a lot of money back in consumers' pockets right at a time where they're feeling pretty good, and that's how you can get some more inflation," Andy Goldberg, chief investment strategist at Nomura Asset Management International, told CNBC.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq was weighed down by losses in chip stocks. Advanced Micro Devices fell more than 7 percent, while Broadcom and Micron Technology each dropped more than 4 percent. Nvidia declined more than 2 percent.
SpaceX rallied but pared earlier gains to close at 4.83 percent. For much of the session, the Elon Musk-led company's market value briefly surpassed that of Amazon and even Microsoft. SpaceX will buy AI coding startup Cursor from its parent company, Anysphere, for 60 billion dollars.
Investors are turning their attention to Wednesday's Fed policy meeting, the first to be chaired by new chairman Kevin Warsh. The central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged, but markets will closely watch updated economic projections and Warsh's first post-meeting press conference. ■