The US markets ended lower on Tuesday amid rebound in oil prices as uncertainty continues about how long the war with Iran will last. Traders remained cautious as revised data released by the Labor Department showed US nonfarm business labor productivity grew 1.8% in Q4 2025, down from the preliminary estimate of 2.8% and sharply lower than the 5.2% surge in Q3. Output rose just 1.5% (revised from 2.6%), while hours worked dipped 0.2% after a slight increase in the prior quarter. In the manufacturing sector, productivity fell 2.5%, with output dropping 2.8% and hours worked declining 0.3%. Durable goods manufacturing saw a 3.3% productivity decline due to lower output and increased hours, while nondurable manufacturing productivity slipped 1.2% as both output and hours decreased. Annually, nonfarm productivity grew 2.5% in Q4, but full-year 2025 growth slowed to 2.1%, down from 3.0% in 2024, signaling a notable deceleration in efficiency gains. 

On the sectorial front, software stocks experienced a sharp decline, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index down by 3.5 percent to its lowest closing level in a month.  

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.41 points or 0.18 percent to 46,124.06, Nasdaq decreased 184.86 points or 0.84 percent to 21,761.89 and S&P 500 slipped 24.63 points or 0.37 percent to 6,556.37.