04:51 PM EDT, 10/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed lower Tuesday as markets evaluated the latest batch of corporate earnings, while oil prices slumped.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 1% to 18,315.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 dropped 0.8% each to 42,740.4 and 5,815.3, respectively, both retreating from Monday's record closings. Among sectors, energy saw the steepest decline, down 3%. Real estate led the gainers.

In company news, ASML ( ASML ) shares tumbled 16%, the worst performer on the Nasdaq, after the company's fiscal 2025 sales outlook fell short of Wall Street's estimates. Separately, ASML ( ASML ) said it published its fiscal third-quarter results ahead of schedule to ensure transparency after information relating to the quarter was "erroneously published" on its website.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) narrowed its full-year earnings outlook amid a higher-than-expected impact from business disruptions tied to a cybersecurity incident earlier in the year. The health insurer's shares dropped 8.1%, the steepest decline on the Dow and among the worst on the S&P 500.

Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ) was the best performer on the S&P 500, up nearly 16%, after the company posted fiscal fourth-quarter results ahead of the Street's views.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 3.9% to $70.92 a barrel as Israel reportedly said it doesn't plan to target Iran's oil facilities.

Separately, the International Energy Agency reduced its global oil demand growth outlook for 2024 amid weakness in China. On Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its 2024 and 2025 global oil demand projections while holding supply estimates steady.

The US 10-year yield fell 3.9 basis points to 4.03%, while the two-year rate rose 1.1 basis points to 3.95%.

Last month, the Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points, its first cut since March 2020. Policymakers tightened monetary policy from March 2022 through July 2023 to combat inflation.

"I see this (September) recalibration as 'right-sizing,' recognizing the progress we've made and loosening the policy reins a bit, but not letting go," San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said Tuesday. "Even with this adjustment, policy remains restrictive, exerting additional downward pressure on inflation to ensure it reaches 2%."

In economic news, New York manufacturing activity fell more than projected this month in a return to contraction territory as orders and shipments plummeted, the New York Fed said.

Separately, a survey by the Fed branch showed that US consumers' inflation expectations increased at the three- and five-year horizons in September, while the year-ahead outlook held steady.

Gold rose 0.5% to $2,677.70 per troy ounce, while silver gained 1.2% to $31.68 per ounce.