2018.05.0821:44:00UTC+00Wall Street Flat after Trump Decides to Exit Iran Nuclear Deal

Wall Street ended little changed on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced that he is withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal signed three years ago.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished 2.89 points higher at 24,360.21, with J.P. Morgan Chase as the best-performing stock in the index. The 30-stock index briefly slid more than 150 points following the announcement.

The S&P 500 closed just below breakeven at 2,671.92 as utilities dropped 2.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.02 percent to close at 7,266.90.

Trump announced the U.S. was pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was forged by former President Barack Obama three years ago. “The president also said he planned to ramp up penalties against Tehran, including “the highest level of economic sanctions.”

On the Federal Reserve front, Chairman Jerome Powell said early Tuesday at an event in Switzerland that emerging-market economies should be able to manage as advanced economies move toward tighter monetary policy.

The financials sector was one of four that closed higher on Tuesday, climbing 0.7 percent. Industrials also increased, as shares of defense companies soared. The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) climbed 1.5 percent, its best day since March 26, when it surged 2.6 percent.

Shares in entertainment giant 21st Century Fox Inc. fell 0.1 percent after a report that NBCUniversal-parent Comcast is planning an all-cash bid for most of 21-Century Fox's assets if the U.S. government approves AT&T's purchase of Time Warner. Comcast shares lost 5.5 percent.

Citigroup Inc. gained 3.7 percent after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor has built a $1.2 billion stake in the bank.