US stocks turn lower at close as T-bond yields rise

US stock indices turned lower on Tuesday as strong economic data raised doubts about the pace of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, sending Treasury yields higher.

At the end of trading, the Dow Jones fell by 0.4%, or 178 points, to 42,528 points, after rising earlier to 42,931 points.

Likewise, the S&P 500 declined by 1.1%, or 66 points, to 5,909 points, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.9%, or 375 points, to end the session at 19,489 points.

Looking at European markets, the STOXX Europe 600 index rose 0.3% to 514.6 points, supported by gains in the energy, technology, and automotive sectors.

The British FTSE index stabilized at 8,245 points, the German DAX rose by 0.6% to 20,340 points, and the French CAC increased by almost the same percentage to 7,489 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei index ended the session with an increase of 1.95%, or nearly 776 points, to 40,083 points, and the broader TOPIX gained 1.10% to 2,786 points.

In the oil market, futures prices for standard Brent crude for March delivery rose 1%, or 75 cents, to $77.05 a barrel, after falling earlier to $75.91.

Meanwhile, futures prices for US Nymex crude for February delivery grew by 0.95%, or 69 cents, to $74.25 per barrel.

Gold futures prices for February delivery rose by 0.7%, or $18, to $2,665.4 per ounce, after touching $2,678.50.

This comes after economic data showed that the number of job opportunities available in the US increased more than expected during November, coinciding with the growth of economic activity in the services sector in December, for the sixth month in a row.