It was a shaky day on Wall Street, with the major indexes swinging to sizable midday leads before shrinking back below their respective breakeven levels. The Dow struggled for direction before eventually logging a 192-point drop, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 finished the day with muted losses. Traders are grappling for a catalyst right now, with a pivotal earnings season just ahead and the weakening global economy looming large. The fear has many dumping riskier assets in favor of the U.S. dollar -- a noted traditional safe haven -- which has risen roughly 13% so far this year.

The Dow Jones Average (DJI -30,981.33) shed 192.5 points or 0.6% for the day. Boeing (BA) led the gainers, adding 7.4%. Salesforce (CRM) paced the laggards with a 4.6% fall.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,818.80) lost nearly 35.6 points or 0.9% for the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 11,264.73) shed 107.9 points or nearly 1% for the session.

Lastly, the Cboe Market Volatility Index (VIX - 27.29) added 1.1 points or 4.3% for the day.

GOLD HITS LOWEST SETTLEMENT SINCE SEPTEMBER 2021

Oil futures dropped once again on Tuesday, settling back below the $100 level to their lowest close since April, as investors predict a weakness in demand for the black gold. August-dated crude lost $8.25, or 7.9%, to finish at $95.84 per barrel for the day.

Gold strung together its second-straight daily drop as well as its lowest settlement since September 2021, as the dollar's strength showed no signs of flagging. August-dated gold lost $6.90, or 0.4%, to close at $1,724.80 an ounce.

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