U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, paring earlier gains as technology stocks lost steam.
The Dow added just 45 points, or 0.1%, to come off session highs. The S&P 500 ended a tick below the flat line, while the Nasdaq also ended in slightly negative territory. Treasury yields rose across the curve, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hovered above 1.6%. Brent and U.S. crude oil prices gained after OPEC+ suggested oil stockpiles would slide further as the post-pandemic recovery ramps later this year.
Over the past several weeks, equity investors have at least temporarily shaken off fears over fast-rising prices for consumer and producer goods during the economic recovery, especially as officials at the Federal Reserve reassured market participants that they did not yet see inflationary pressures that would warrant a shift in monetary policy in the near-term. Still, inflation hedges like precious metals were some of the best-performers in May, signaling an undercurrent of jitters over rising prices. Of 38 non-currency assets tracked by Deutsche Bank, silver was the best-performing asset with an 8.1% gain, followed by gold with a 7.9% increase, analysts from the bank wrote in a note Tuesday.
