Stocks fell back into the red on Tuesday as investors awaited clarity on a number of market-moving events with geopolitical ramifications later in the week.
The S&P 500 was down 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.16%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.04%.
Wall Street wasn't able to extend a record-breaking streak into a third session on Monday as a terror attack in London and lower oil prices teamed up to take down stocks. Still, stocks held close to records with market reaction to terrorism appearing restrained and cautious. Wall Street largely overlooked weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs growth in May on Friday, with major benchmark indexes closing at records for the second day in a row.
Market activity should accelerate toward the back half of the week with several catalysts likely to trigger trading. The United Kingdom will hold its general election on Thursday -- Prime Minister Theresa May is still holding a lead in the polls over Labor's Jeremy Corbyn. Also on Thursday, the European Central Bank will announce a decision on monetary policy. Improving economic data in the eurozone could affect members' growth forecasts.
Finally, former FBI director James Comey will deliver his public testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Donald Trump fired Comey earlier in May while the FBI was investigating the Trump transition team's ties to Russia. News reports also indicated that Trump had asked Comey for his loyalty and requested he stop investigating former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
"Investors are fleeing for safety ahead of [those] three key events later this week," said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel Fixed Income. "June 8th is slated to be a very busy day, to say the least."