US stocks slip in anticipation of corporate results

Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.15%, or 57 points, to close at 40,358 points, after touching the 40,527 level.  

S&P 500 benchmark fell 0.15%, or eight points, to 5,555 points, while Nasdaq remained stable at 17,997 points, after rising to 18,128 points.  

As for the European indices, STOXX Europe 600 inched up 0.15%, to 515.4 points, extending winning streak for the second straight session. 

While DAX 40 increased 0.8% to 18,557 points, FTSE 100 shed 0.4% to 8,167 points, and CAC 40 dipped 0.3% to 7,598 points. 

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 remained unchanged at 39,594 points, while TOPIX increased by 0.2% to 2,833 points. 

In the oil market, futures contracts for Brent crude for September delivery fell by 1.7%, or $1.39, to $81.01 per barrel. 

Meanwhile, prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for September delivery slumped by 1.85%, or $1.44, to $76.96 per barrel. 

As for gold, futures prices for the yellow metal for August delivery inched up by 0.55%, or $12.6, to $2,407 per ounce.