Nasdaq Closes At Its 30th Record For 2017, But Dow, S&P 500 Limp Lower

The Nasdaq Composite on Tuesday booked its 30th record close of 2017, but the broader market ended in the red as a slump in oil and rumors of rising geopolitical tensions prompted assets to mount a late-session slide. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 0.3% at 6,120, while the S&P 500 index ended off about 0.1% at 2,396 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.2% at 20,975, weighed by a slide in Chevron Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. . Those Dow components combined to cut nearly 20 points from blue chips. U.S. equity markets were hobbled by a downturn in U.S. crude-oil prices , which fell by 1.2%, to settle at $45.88 a barrel, ending two days of gains for the commodity. Buoying the Nasdaq was a rise in shares of Apple Inc. , which gained 0.6%. Reports that North Korea's ambassador to the United Kingdom said his country will go ahead with its sixth nuclear test, threatening to intensify tensions between Pyongyang and the U.S., nudged stocks to sessions lows before paring those declines.