NEW YORK, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as an escalating trade confrontation between the United States and Canada, coupled with climbing crude oil prices, dented market sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 628.18 points, or 1.18 percent, to 52,786.07. The S&P 500 lost 45.08 points, or 0.58 percent, to 7,673.52. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 85.58 points, or 0.32 percent, to 26,421.41.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, with healthcare and financials leading the laggards by falling 2.55 percent and 1.43 percent, respectively. Bucking the downward trend, energy and utilities led the gainers, advancing 1.01 percent and 0.85 percent, respectively.
Cross-border trade tensions intensified Tuesday as Canada formally enacted tariffs of up to 50 percent on approximately 20 billion U.S. dollars' worth of U.S. imports, targeting goods including dairy, steel, and wood products in retaliation against Washington's duties.
Meanwhile, global energy prices advanced amid lingering supply disruption concerns in the Middle East, even as Iran signaled progress in talks with Oman regarding transit protocols through the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery gained 1.55 dollars, or 1.69 percent, to settle at 93.03 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery added 92 cents, or 0.95 percent, to settle at 97.92 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Elevated energy costs, combined with last Friday's stronger-than-expected August employment report, reinforced expectations of tighter monetary policy ahead of the Federal Reserve's Sept. 15-16 meeting. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, fed funds futures priced in roughly a 60 percent probability of a 25-basis-point rate increase at the upcoming monetary meeting.
In corporate developments, pharmaceutical company Novartis plunged nearly 14 percent following disappointing clinical trial outcomes. Conversely, semiconductor manufacturer Intel jumped over 9 percent on reports that the company plans price increases in October.
On the corporate earnings front, video game retailer GameStop is slated to report quarterly results on Tuesday, while enterprise software giant Oracle highlights the remainder of the week's earnings calendar.
