S&P 500 slips as investors weigh China tensions, study Fed comments; European stocks close lower, tracking global risk-off sentiment; BP shares up 2.9% 
The S&P 500 fell on Tuesday as investors weighed increased tensions between the U.S. and China with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit and reacted to comments from Federal Reserve Presidents about the central bank’s path forward. 
The S&P 500 slipped 0.34% after being down nearly 1% earlier in the session. The benchmark had earlier climbed off of lows as Pelosi’s plane landed safely in Taiwan Tuesday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also shed 291.26 points, or 0.90%, weighed down by Caterpillar, which shed more than 3% after reporting disappointing quarterly earnings. 
The Nasdaq Composite was the outlier, up 0.06%, boosted by a huge gain in Uber following earnings. 
Citi raised Tesla’s price target, to $424 from $375, citing some better-than-expected second quarter earnings results, as well as easing commodity costs for automakers. Still, the investment firm maintained a sell rating on the electric vehicle maker. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed 0.2% lower, with financial services stocks shedding 1.7% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory. 
U.K. oil giant BP boosted its dividend as it posted bumper second-quarter profits, benefitting from a surge in commodity prices. Second-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, came in at $8.5 billion. BP shares climbed nearly 3% on the news. 
Source: CNBC, Investing.com