Investing.com -- U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday extending losses from the previous session, amid weak trade data in China and declining oil stocks after U.S. crude futures slipped below $37 a barrel for the first time since early-2009.
One day after slumping more than 6% on the session, crude futures continued their downward slide on Tuesday falling to fresh six-year lows before rallying slightly in afternoon trading. The latest downturn comes days after OPEC members left a contentious meeting in Vienna deadlocked after failing to agree on a consensus strategy to reduce its output from near-record highs. Crude futures have crashed more than 80% over the last 18 months, as an overflow of supply continues to severely outpace demand.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 162.51 or 0.92% to 17,568, while the NASDAQ Composite index lost 3.57 or 0.07% to 5,098.24, as crashing oil prices weighed on both indices. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, dipped 13.48 or 0.65% to 2,063.59, as stocks in nine of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy, Industrials and Financials industries lagged, each falling more than 1% on the session. Stocks in the Health Care industry ended Tuesday's session as the lone sector to close in the green.
The top performer on the Dow was Home Depot Inc (N:HD), which gained 0.33 or 0.24% to 134.26 after the retailer of home improvement products reaffirmed its full-year guidance on Tuesday. The worst performer was Caterpillar Inc (N:CAT), which fell 1.79 or 2.62% to 66.57, amid the continuing romp in global commodity stocks.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (O:ALXN), which surged 10.05 or 5.61% to 189.20, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its enzyme replacement therapy Kanuma aimed at treating an ultra-rare, potentially fatal genetic disorder that affects patients with lysosomal acid lipase deficiency. The worst performer was Staples Inc (O:SPLS), which fell 0.63 or 5.91% to 10.03. On Monday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint to challenge the Massachusetts-based company's $6.3 billion merger with ODP in a deal the FTC said could significantly curtail competition in the office supply market.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was NRG Energy Inc (N:NRG), which gained 0.59 or 6.18% to 10.14. Shares in the Houston-based energy company are still down more than 60% over the last year of trading. The worst performer was Southwest Airlines Company (N:LUV), which fell 4.43 or 8.94% to $45.15. Earlier on Tuesday, the Dallas-based airliner said it expects to suffer a drop in revenue per available seat mile over the fourth quarter, a key industry metric.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing issues by a 2,064 to 1,017 margin.