Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, as geopolitical concerns fuelled the risk-off sentiment for a second straight session while President Trump’s comments rattled the dollar.
The start of the earnings season failed to lift sentiment, as geopolitical jitters remained front and center, causing a ‘flight to safety’, as investors ditched equities in favour of safe-haven assets such as gold and U.S. treasuries.
U.S.-Russia relations remained in the political spotlight, as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was expected in Moscow on Wednesday to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and discuss a number of sensitive topics including the Korean peninsula, Syria and bilateral relations.
The meeting between Tillerson and Lavrov, came fresh off the heels of comments from Russia President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, after he said trust had eroded between the United States and Russia.
President Trump confirmed that U.S.- Russia relation had strained, after he said the U.S. is “not getting along” with Russia and relations are at an “all-time low”
Meanwhile, the dollar slumped to lows, after President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he thinks the currency (dollar) is getting “too strong” while he added "I do like a low-interest rate policy, I must be honest with you.”
In corporate news, Delta Airlines closed negative, despite the airliner posting quarterly results in-line with analysts’ expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.29% lower at 20,591. The S&P 500 dipped 0.38% and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.52% to 5836.16.
S&P 500 ‘movers and shakers’
The top S&P 500 gainers included; HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) up 2.7%, and DXC Technology Co (NYSE:DXC) up 2.5%, while Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE:TSN) added 2.2%.
Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) down 8.3%, Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) down 8% and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) down 5.4%, were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.