Wall Street stocks finish lower as rising crude prices weaken sentiment

Most S&P 500 sectors ended the session in negative territory. Take-Two Interactive TTWO.O shares fell 6.7%, making the videogame publisher the biggest percentage decliner and one of the biggest drags on the communication services sector .SPLRCL, the weakest S&P 500 sector.

Energy stocks .SPNY led sector gains, followed by technology shares .SPLRCT.

Tesla TSLA.O rose 5.5% for its biggest percentage gain since July 6. It was the second biggest boost to the S&P 500 behind Nvidia NVDA.O, which rose 1.5%.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday as rising crude prices, following a renewed escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, weighed on investor sentiment.

Investors were also assessing what was seen as a hawkish message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, where he reaffirmed the central bank's commitment to its inflation target, pushing U.S. Treasury yields higher.

Traders are pricing in a 66% chance of a 25-basis-point interest rate increase in September, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Here is the closing market snapshot:

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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

• TAKE-TWO SKID LEADS COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES SECTOR LOSSES CLICK HERE
• THE MARKET MAY BE WRONG ABOUT SEPTEMBER: MORGAN STANLEY CLICK HERE