Stocks start lower, oil prices rise despite release of crude

The Associated Press

Stocks are off to a mostly lower start on Wall Street Tuesday as drops in several big technology companies offset gains in other parts of the market. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.2% in the early going and the tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled back 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back an early gain and was down 0.1%. Prices for crude oil and wholesale gasoline rose despite the fact that President Joe Biden ordered 50 million barrels of oil released from the nation’s strategic reserve to help bring down energy costs. The move was made in concert with other big oil-consuming nations.