• 3M Co ends lower for third day in a row
• Trump involved in new spat with Iranian President
• Tesla shares fall 3.3% after claims that it asked suppliers for refunds

On the stock market front, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 13.83 points yesterday to end at 25,044.29.

One of the major culprits was 3M Co, whose share price fell by 1.5%. Three days of losses in a row represented this blue-chip stock’s longest losing stint for July and its worst performance since an eight-period losing spell in June.

The S&P 500, however, ended the day 0.2% higher at 2,806.98. Yesterday’s gains came from a small number of sectors. IT, financials and healthcare were the only industries to show profits.

The Nasdaq Composite Index ended the day 0.3% higher at 7,841.87, just 0.2% below the all-time high of 7,855.12 it reached on July 17.

Stock market investors are keeping an eye on the possibility of a fresh round of geopolitical drama after US President Donald Trump lashed out at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Twitter Sunday night, warning him against threatening the United States. That came only hours after the latter warned Trump not to follow a hostile policy toward Iran.

Central bankers and finance ministers from the Group of 20, meanwhile, made virtually no progress on easing trade tensions at this weekend’s meeting in Buenos Aires.

Among individual stocks, Tesla dropped by 3.3% after a report claimed the firm requested refunds from suppliers to help turn its losses into profits. A spokesperson for the company denied this and said that it had merely asked for reduced spending on some specific projects.

Halliburton also dropped, ending 8.10% lower after results failed to exceed expectations.

Hasbro’s stock price surged by nearly 13% after it published results for the second quarter that exceeded expectations.