04:04 PM EDT, 08/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended lower Tuesday as markets awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve's July monetary policy meeting, scheduled to be released Wednesday.

* The Philadelphia Fed's services reading fell to minus 25.1 from minus 19.1 with the employment reading declining further into negative territory to indicate contraction. The six-month outlook fell below the breakeven point with 40.5% of respondents expecting contraction in the sector compared with 31.5% projecting expansion.

* Redbook reported US same-store retail sales last week rose 4.9% from a year earlier, compared with the 4.7% gain in the prior week. Redbook said that the focus was on essential items.

* September West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down $0.33 to settle at $74.04 a barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.37 to $77.29 on weak demand from China and easing geopolitical tension.

* Boeing ( BA ) shares fell 4.2% as the plane maker said it is grounding its 777X test fleet after finding cracks in an engine mounting structure.

* Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) shares jumped 7.2% after the cybersecurity firm logged a surprise increase in fiscal Q4 earnings as revenue topped estimates by analysts.