MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stocks Retreat For Second Day As Investors Brace For U.K. Election, Comey Testimony

Worries about Comey, Qatar and more help to 'curb risk appetite'

U.S. stocks edge lower on Tuesday, as investors turned cautious ahead of a key foreign election and uncertainty surrounding the president.

Analysts said investors are in a risk-off mode as they wait for the outcome of the U.K. general election, a policy meeting of the European Central Bank and former Federal Bureau of Investigation boss James Comey's testimony to a Senate panel on Thursday.

Read:What to watch when James Comey testifies to the Senate on Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-watch-when-james-comey-testifies-to-the-senate-on-thursday-2017-06-05)

The S&P 500 was off by 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,433, with eight of the 11 main sectors trading lower. Financials were leading the losses, driven lower by a continued slump in Treasury yields. The sector was down 0.4% in early trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 13 points, or 0.1%, to 21,170, with more than half of the 30 components trading negative territory. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) and Walt Disney Company(DIS) were the top decliners, down 1.4% adn 0.9% respectively.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index rebounded, trading 5 points, or 0.1%, higher at 6,301.

"We expect sideways markets over the short-term due to seasonality -- summer months tend to be quieter--and investors continue to react to headline news," said Lisa Kopp, head of Traditional Investment Group at US Bank Wealth Management.

Kopp still expect the S&P 500 to finish the year higher, supported by fundamentals.

Geopolitical concerns are "helping to drive safe haven flows and curb risk appetite," said Richard Perry, a Hantec Markets analyst, in a note.

Gold futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-rises-looks-to-settle-at-7-week-high-2017-06-06), the Japanese yen (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-falls-against-yen-as-analysts-see-flight-to-safety-due-to-geopolitical-fears-2017-06-06) and Treasurys , deemed as safety plays were finding buyers, thanks in part to concerns about a spat between Qatar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/saudi-arabia-bahrain-uae-sever-diplomatic-relations-with-qatar-2017-06-04) and other Middle Eastern nations.

Read: What you need to know about Saudi Arabia's break with Qatar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-saudi-arabias-spat-with-qatar-2017-06-05)

Other markets: Oil futures edged lower, and European markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-set-for-1-week-low-as-caution-sets-in-2017-06-06) also lost ground. Asian equities finished mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-slip-as-investors-turn-cautious-2017-06-05), and a key dollar index was slightly lower after earlier showing a bigger loss and touching levels last seen in November (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-falls-against-yen-as-analysts-see-flight-to-safety-due-to-geopolitical-fears-2017-06-06).

Economic news:The number of job openings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-job-openings-hit-record-high-6-million-2017-06-06) in the United States rose in April to a record high, but the pace of hiring slipped to a one-year low in another sign the economy is running out of people with enough skills to fill empty positions.

Individual movers: Shares in Apple Inc.(AAPL) were trading slightly higher, putting the gadgets giant on track to recover somewhat from Monday's 1% drop.

That fall came after Apple unveiled its HomePod smart speaker and other new offerings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-bets-that-youll-adopt-these-3-tech-habits-2017-06-05), and as Pacific Crest analysts downgraded the stock (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-downgraded-as-analysts-say-investors-dazzled-by-iphone-8-arent-pricing-in-enough-risk-2017-06-05), saying all of the upside from the next iPhone is already priced in.

Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) is dropping the price for its Prime membership for low-income shoppers (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-cuts-prime-fee-for-low-income-shoppers-as-it-takes-on-wal-mart-2017-06-06). The move is seen as taking aim at Wal-Mart(WMT), which counts on shoppers who receive government assistance for a large percentage of its sales. Shares in Amazon edged lower in thin premarket trading. Wal-Mart shares were down more than 1%, while Amazon shares were slightly higher.

Media giant 21st Century Fox Inc.(FOX) (FOX) is getting into the mobile videogame business, paying tens of millions of dollars for game studio Aftershock, a Wall Street Journal report said (https://www.wsj.com/articles/fox-buys-mobile-game-maker-aftershock-1496742304). Shares were up 0.3%.

Struggling Toshiba Corp.(6502.TO) (6502.TO) has granted preferential negotiating rights for its semiconductor unit to U.S. chip maker Broadcom Ltd.(AVGO), said a report from The Asahi Shimbun (http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201706060045.html), a Japanese newspaper. Broadcom shares rose 0.9%.

Michaels Cos.(MIK) reported earnings below Wall Street's expectations and downgraded its full-year outlook. Shares dropped 8%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 06, 2017 11:27 ET (15:27 GMT)