Investing.com - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as investors avoided equities and remained on the sidelines ahead of the release of second-quarter earnings this week.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 fell 0.69%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.70%, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 1.35%.
The Volatility S&P 500 index, which measures the outlook for market volatility, was up 7.06% at 12.13.
Uncertainty over earnings and U.S. monetary policy steered investors away from equities on Tuesday.
U.S. metals giant Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) is due to kick off the second-quarter earnings season when it reports later in the evening.
Many investors spent the day on the sidelines to await concrete revenue and profit numbers from a variety of sectors to help them verify whether stock prices have grown a little frothy thanks to years of loose monetary policy.
The Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its June policy meeting on Wednesday, and investors also avoided stocks ahead that as well, as uncertainty persists as to what the U.S. central bank will do with interest rates.
While the economy has shown some signs of improvement, markets still remain unclear as to how much time will pass from when the Fed will wrap up stimulus programs and when it will begin hiking benchmark interest rates.
U.S. Treasury yields edged lower on Monday due to the uncertainty, with the yield on the U.S. 10-Year Treasury note fell to a one-week low of 2.57% earlier due to concerns that the Fed will remain dovish on interest rates despite improvements taking place in the labor market.
Last week, the Department of Labor reported that non-farm payrolls rose by 288,000 in June, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 212,000.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), up 0.78%, Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), up 0.47%, and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), up 0.19%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), down 1.96%, Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), down 1.78%, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), down 1.69%.
European indices, meanwhile, ended the day lower.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 1.35%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.44%, while Germany's DAX fell 1.35%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 1.25%.
On Wednesday, expect stocks to move upon release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting.