US benchmark equity indexes closed lower on Tuesday, as investors evaluated comments on the impacts of tariffs by a Federal Reserve official.

The Nasdaq was down 0.4% to 19,142.71, while the S&P 500 decreased 0.4% to 5,940.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3% to 42,677.24. Among sectors, utilities posted the largest gain while communications and energy saw the steepest declines.

US Treasury yields were higher, with the 10-year rate increasing 3.4 basis points to 4.49% and the two-year rate rising 0.2 basis points to 3.98%.

July West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 0.3% to $62.31 a barrel on Tuesday.

In economic news, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said Tuesday that tariffs are expected to "dampen" economic activity and result in "some further softening" of the labor market.

"Tariffs are also likely to have direct one-off effects on the prices of imported final goods, indirect effects on the prices of domestically produced goods and services, and possibly second-round effects on inflation," Musalem said in prepared remarks for an event in Minneapolis. "I believe that monetary policy is well-positioned to navigate material changes in the economic outlook as they become apparent, and to deliver stable prices and maximum employment."

In company news, Moderna (MRNA) shares increased 6.1%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. The US Food and Drug Administration plans to require new clinical trials prior to approval of COVID-19 boosters for healthy Americans under the age of 65, agency leaders said Tuesday in a post published on the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dollar Tree (DLTR) shares were up 4.6%. Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the stock to $90 from $82.

Airbnb (ABNB) shares were down 3.3%. The Spanish government has ordered the vacation rental company to block more than 65,000 listings for allegedly violating rules set for vacation or temporary housing rentals, the Ministry of Social Rights and Consumption said Monday.

DBV Technologies (DBVT) shares dropped more than 11%. The company filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday covering a potential resale of up to 289 million shares by some selling stockholders "from time to time."

Gold increased 1.9% to $3,295.80 per troy ounce, while silver was up 2.4% to $33.27 per troy ounce.