US close: Stocks slip ahead of ceasefire deadline

21st Apr 2026 22:18

(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed lower on Tuesday amid growing fears that the US and Iran would be unable to strike a peace deal ahead of the expiration of Donald Trump's two-week ceasefire on Wednesday.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.59% at 49,149.38, while the S&P 500 shed 0.63% to 7,064.01 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.59% weaker at 24,259.96.

The Dow closed 293.18 points lower on Tuesday, extending modest losses recorded in the previous session.

Stocks headed south late on Tuesday as jitters over a potential US‑Iran peace deal picked up following reports from the New York Times and Axios that said vice president JD Vance's planned trip to join negotiations had been paused due to what US officials described as a lack of commitment from Tehran.

However, after the close, Donald Trump announced that the US will extend its ceasefire with Iran while continuing the blockade of Iranian ports. The two-week ceasefire was due to expire on Wednesday. However, Trump took to social media to say: "Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.

"I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."

Quarterly earnings were also in focus throughout the session, with UnitedHealth reporting first-quarter results that exceeded expectations and lifting its full-year outlook on Tuesday, as the American health insurer pointed to improved cost management and early benefits from operational changes, while homebuilder DR Horton said Q2 profits had dropped 20% as new home demand was pressured by affordability constraints and weak consumer confidence, though the company kept its full-year guidance.

3M posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, although its full-year profit guidance came in just short of Wall Street expectations, Northrop Grumman reported first-quarter earnings per share of $6.14 each on sales of $9.9bn, up 5% year-on-year, GE Aerospace's Q1 profits came in ahead expectations as the jet-engine maker said strong demand for air travel had pushed sales up almost 30% year-on-year, and Halliburton also beat Q1 earnings expectations, despite the oil-services giant taking a noticeable hit from the US and Israel's conflict with Iran, with Middle East/Asia revenue dropping 13% year-on-year to $1.3bn.

United Airlines posted its Q1 numbers after the close, with both adjusted earnings per share and revenues coming in ahead of Wall Street expectations, despite the group reporting a 12.6% increase in fuel expenses to $3.04bn, while Chubb reported Q1 GAAP earnings per share that fell short of average analyst estimates and an increase to net realised losses.

Senate testimony from Donald Trump's nominee for Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, also drew an amount investor attention, with the former Fed governor telling the Senate Banking Committee that the US central bank must remain largely independent of political influence while staying focused on its core objectives. "The Fed must stay in its lane," he said, adding that its independence was most at risk when it strayed into fiscal or social policy areas "where it has neither authority nor expertise".

On the macro front, US retail sales rose 1.7% month-on-month in March 2026, according to the Census Bureau, beating market expectations for a more modest 1.4% increase and following February's upwardly revised 0.7% increase. March's reading marked the steepest rate of growth since January 2023, principally due to a 15.5% surge in gasoline station receipts as fuel prices surged amid the US and Israel's conflict with Iran.

Elsewhere, US business inventories rose by 0.4% month-on-month in February, according to the Census Bureau, just beating consensus estimates of a 0.3% uptick. February's increase marked the strongest gain since January 2025, fuelled by a 0.8% increase in merchant wholesale inventories, versus a 0.3% drop in January.

On another note, contracts to purchase previously owned US homes rose at a faster-than-expected clip in March, according to the National Association of Realtors, but higher mortgage rates and ​constrained supply continued to weigh on the housing market. The NAR's ‌pending home sales index rose 1.5% to 73.7 in March, easily surpassing consensus estimates for a 0.5% increase. On an annualised basis, pending home sales dropped 1.1%. Contracts rose across ​the Northeast and the South, but ⁠fell in the West and Midwest regions.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $346.01 6.96%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $89.70 4.35%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $38.31 4.19%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $185.98 1.49%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $255.68 0.78%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $424.16 0.59%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $187.11 0.45%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $800.45 0.26%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $301.42 0.21%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $112.56 -3.88%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $344.86 -2.85%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $66.26 -2.69%

Boeing Co. (BA) $219.16 -2.63%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $343.92 -2.01%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $226.16 -1.96%

3M Co. (MMM) $148.47 -1.94%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $266.17 -1.90%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $104.29 -1.89%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $301.84 -1.66%

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Kohls Corp. (KSS) $15.87 8.62%

Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $171.74 8.06%

HP Inc (HPQ) $21.09 7.66%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $346.01 6.96%

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $111.80 6.66%

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $35.63 5.82%

D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $162.20 5.78%

Msci Inc. (MSCI) $597.39 5.37%

Apache Corp. (APA) $37.60 5.03%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $325.84 4.87%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $39.57 -11.95%

FMC Corp. (FMC) $15.87 -8.53%

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $611.13 -6.98%

Prudential Fincl Inc. (PRU) $96.45 -5.99%

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $91.07 -5.92%

Carnival Corp. (CCL) $27.36 -5.69%

General Electric Co. (GE) $286.73 -5.56%

Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $124.75 -5.46%

Transdigm Group Inc. (TDG) $1,205.67 -5.41%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $92.58 -4.92%

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Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $325.84 4.87%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $89.70 4.35%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $467.58 4.14%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $59.94 4.10%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $185.95 4.05%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $251.09 3.24%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $195.20 3.18%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $140.08 3.10%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $129.16 2.99%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $273.80 2.95%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.40 -30.60%

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $91.07 -5.92%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $92.58 -4.92%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.77 -4.70%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $386.42 -3.97%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $451.29 -3.54%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $133.29 -3.11%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $258.37 -3.01%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $344.86 -2.85%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $15.19 -2.85%