Wall Street ends lower, weighed down by energy, retail shares

US stock indices closed down on Tuesday but remained near record highs, after the energy sector led the way down, spurred on by the 2% tumble in oil prices to seven-month low on oversupply concerns, while Amazon dragged the retail sector down.

Earlier US data showed the current account deficit rising below expectations in the first quarter, while Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans and Federal Reserve Vice Governor Stanley Fischer made speeches today, as markets await Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan to speak about the economy and monetary policy at the Commonwealth Club, in San Francisco.

Evans talked about current economic conditions and monetary policy at the New York University Money Marketeers event, where he mentioned the possibility of delaying rate hikes until the December meeting, expressing the need to gradually raise rates and trim down the federal balance sheet, while saying the Fed shouldn't hurry in its tightening to avoid setbacks. 

Evans said the US economy is nearing full employment as the economy registers noticeable improvements, while the Federal Reserve voted last week to increase interest rates for the second time this year to between 1% and 1.25%. 

Otherwise, US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin called on Congress to raise the debt limit as soon as possible, pointing to September as a good time to do it, while expecting tax reform plans to finish up later this year, saying the treasury ministry plans wide reforms beside taxes. 

Mnuchin also talked about the recent gains of the dollar, noting its negative impact on exports, while asserting that dollar's strength reflect the markets' confidence in the US administration and president Donald Trump's performance, and finally, Mnuchin said he didn't take a decision yet on whether to keep Yellen at her job as the Federal Reserve Governor or hire a different one. 

Dow Jones shed 0.29%, or 61.85 points to 21,467.14, while Standard and Poor's 500 declined 0.67%, or 16.43 points to 2,437.03. NASDAQ Composite tumbled 0.82%, or 50.98 points to 6,188.03. 

Gold futures due on August 16 inched down 0.24% to $1,243.70 an ounce from the opening of $1,246.70, marking one-month lows, while the dollar index rose 0.24% to 97.78 from the opening of 97.55, marking the highest since late May. 

Otherwise, US crude futures due on July 16 plummeted 2.19% to $43.23 a barrel from the opening of $44.20, while Brent crude futures due on August 16 slumped 1.94% to $46.00 a barrel from the opening of $46.91.