Wall Street closes lower on vaccine delay, dampened stimulus hopes

Wall Street lost ground on Tuesday, with halted Covid-19 vaccine trials and an elusive US stimulus agreement weighing on sentiment as third quarter earnings season got underway.

While all three major stock indexes closed in the red, a gain Microsoft Corp shares helped the mitigate the tech-heavy Nasdaq's loss.

Johnson & Johnson announced on Monday it was pausing clinical trials of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. The delay weighed on the company's shares, even after its beat-and-raise earnings report. Its shares lost 2.3 per cent.

Late in the session, rival Eli Lilly & Co said