The Nasdaq Composite was down 9.62 points, or 0.18%, at 5,222.71.
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Dow Jones closed down by 0.26 percent, S&P 500 ended down by 0.20 percent, Nasdaq finished the day down by 0.18 percent. “The economy is in a strong place-they’re in a strong place to hike in September-but given the track record we’ve seen, I think it’s unlikely”, Mr. Samra said, referring to the Fed’s apparent reluctance to raise rates earlier this year in the face of financial-market turbulence.
Economic docket: Meanwhile, consumer confidence for August was 101.1, surpassing forecasts of 97.0 from 97.3 in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-confidence-holds-steady-in-july-2016-07-26).
Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Tuesday that incoming economic data will determine the trajectory of rate increases and expressed optimism that productivity growth will rebound, damping gold’s appeal as a haven.
“If higher numbers come out (on the jobs report) and we get another strong reading, that could automatically boost odds of a September rate hike”, said Ninh Chung, head of portfolio management at SVB Asset Management in San Francisco.
Mitsubishi analyst Jonathan Butler added: “It looks as though we’re going to see another pretty solid month of jobs gains, and that should mean that there’s a return [of expectations for] a September rise…or more realistically, a December rate rise”.
But Apple AAPL.O weighed on major indexes after the European Commision ordered the iPhone maker to pay Ireland up to 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in unpaid taxes, as it ruled the firm had received illegal state aid. The S&P 500 index finished up 0.5% Monday, while the Dow industrials ended 0.6% higher. Data on Tuesday showed US consumer sentiment rose to 101.1 in August, handily beating expectations for a reading of 97.0.
Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) closed up 0.50 percent, at 1,357.17.
Apple Inc was the largest weight on USA stock indexes on Tuesday after antitrust regulators ordered the company to pay about $14.5 billion in back taxes to the Irish government, but gains in bank shares partly offset the decline. Japan’s Nikkei .n225 dipped 0.1 percent as the yen turned around and starting nudging higher once more.
US gold futures slipped 0.2 percent to $1,313.90.
A strong greenback makes fuel purchases more expensive for countries using other currencies domestically.
Gold futures fell Tuesday amid further hawkish remarks from the number two man at the Federal Reserve.
Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,318.77 an ounce at 1400 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery were down $6.10 an ounce at $1,321.10.
Brent crude was last down 60c, or 1.22%, at $48.66 a barrel.
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December gold was down USD10.60, or 0.8%, to settle at USD1,316.50/oz, the lowest since June. [O/R] Brent crude futures were up 6 cents at $49.32 a barrel, while US crude added 9 cents to $47.0.
