Calm Returns to Markets

US stocks drifted downward Tuesday in a rare quiet day for financial markets worldwide.

• The S&P 500 fell 9.34 points, or 0.2%, to 5,396.63.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 155.83 points, or 0.4%, to 40,368.96.
• The Nasdaq composite fell 8.32 points, or less than 0.1%, to 16,823.17.

The modest moves were a respite for Wall Street following weeks of huge swings caused by President Trump's trade war, the AP reports. Perhaps more importantly, the US bond market and US dollar showed more signs of calm after their sudden and sharp moves last week raised worries that they were losing their status as safe-haven investments because of the trade war. Treasury yields eased.

The value of the US dollar also steadied after tumbling last week and raising more worries that the trade war was degrading its status as a safe-haven investment, like US Treasury bonds. The dollar's value ticked higher against the euro and Swiss franc but slipped against the British pound.

• On Wall Street, Albertson's fell 7.6% despite reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company behind Safeway, Vons and other grocery stores gave a forecast for profit in the upcoming year that was short of analysts'.
• DaVita sank 3.1% for a second straight drop after it said a ransomware attack is affecting some of its operations. The health care company said it's still investigating the attack, which it learned about Saturday, and that it can't yet know the "full scope, nature, and potential ultimate impact."
• On the winning side of Wall Street was Bank of America, which climbed 3.6% after it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Citigroup also topped analysts' expectations, and its stock rose 1.8%.
• Palantir Technologies climbed 6.2% for a second day of gains after NATO said it would use the company's artificial-intelligence capabilities in its allied command operations. Palantir's Maven system is also used by the US military, Quartz reports.

(More stock market stories.)