Stocks Ended Lower on Earnings Anxiety

U.S. stocks closed near their lows of the session on Tuesday as worries increased about third-quarter U.S. earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110.12 points, or 0.81%, to 13,473.53.The S&P 500 Index declined 14.4 points, or0.99%, to close at 1,441.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 47.33 points, or 1.52%, to close at 3,065.02.

Alcoa (AA) reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations on Tuesday. The company reported a net loss of $143 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a profit of $172 million, or 15 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue decreased 9 percent to $5.83 billion from $6.42 billion a year ago.

The price of oil rose more than 3 percent Tuesday on concerns about supplies from the Middle East and the North Sea. Benchmark crude gained $3.06, or 3.4 percent, to finish at $92.39 a barrel in New York.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and American Express (AXP) are taking a big plunge into the prepaid debit-card market with a new card called Bluebird. The card has many features that are standard in regular bank accounts and seems to have remarkably few fees—which have long been the scourge of prepaid cards.