(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, the economic data and the headline were updated in the story.)
U.S. stocks pared earlier gains to drop on Tuesday, following Monday’s advances. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline to destroy Iran’s energy and civilian infrastructure if it failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In manufacturing data, new orders for U.S. durable goods fell 1.4% to $315.5 billion in February, marking a sharper contraction than the revised 0.5% decline seen in January. This represents the third consecutive month of decreasing orders, adding another layer of macroeconomic data for investors to digest alongside current geopolitical and market developments.
Over the weekend, Trump had said in a Truth Social post that “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Strait, you crazy **, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!”
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.33%, and the two-year bond was at 3.85%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.48% |
| S&P 500 | -0.55% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.72% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.80% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket trading on Tuesday. The SPY was down 0.55% at $655.32, while the QQQ declined 0.71% to $584.31.
Stocks In Focus
UnitedHealth Group
- UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) jumped 6.86% after the Trump administration finalized a better-than-feared Medicare Advantage payment rate by 2.48%, boosting the health insurer’s stock.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that UNH maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor growth score.