Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell broadly on Tuesday as investors re-tested lows from last week's major sell-off, amid weak Chinese manufacturing data and sharp losses in crude prices which erased nearly all of the gains from a surge over the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Composite index each fell by nearly 3%, while the NASDAQ Composite index moved into negative territory for 2015 on one of the most bearish days of the year. The Dow lost 469.68 or 2.84% to 16,058.35, while the NASDAQ dipped 140.40 or 2.94% to 4,636.11, as stocks in the energy and financial sectors lagged.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, dove 58.33 or 2.96% to 1,913.85, as all 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy, Financials, Technology and Basic Materials industries all fell by more than 3%.
Shares in Texas energy giant ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) fell considerably on Tuesday after the Texas energy giant announced that it is slashing 10% of its global workforce, citing a "dramatic downturn," in the oil industry. Earlier on Tuesday, crude futures crashed by more than 7% as oil prices resumed its push back near six-year lows. Previously, crude prices skyrocketed more than 25% over the past three sessions, enjoying its strongest three-day moves in 25 years.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) ended Tuesday's session as the worst performer on the Dow, after losing 3.36 or 4.47% to 71.77. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) shares also dipped more than 3.5% on Tuesday to close at 78.05. Exxon (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) are each down by more than 24% this year. The top performer was WMT, which lost 0.96 or 1.48% to 63.77. All 30 components on the Dow closed lower.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL), which rose 0.20 or 0.51% to 39.18. Shares in the major U.S. airline carrier remain relatively flat for the year. The worst performer was Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR), which dove 6.91 or 9.06% to 69.35 after posting worse than expected sales during its last quarter.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC), which gained 0.54 or 2.15% to 25.71. Reynolds American Inc (NYSE:RAI) closed the session at 40.84 after executing a 2-for-1 stock split on Tuesday. For the year, shares in the tobacco giant are up more than 45%. It finished just behind Joy Global Inc (NYSE:JOY), which lost nearly 8% to 69.65.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 2,709 to 436 margin.