Stocks Closed Lower; Oil Up 3%

U.S. stocks gave back early gains and closed lower on Tuesday, as investors eyed continued gains in oil and the dollar ahead of the unofficial start of earnings season. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.43 points, or 0.03%, to 17,875.42. The Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 4.29 points, or 0.21%, to 2076.33. The Nasdaq composite fell 7.08 points, or 0.14%, to 4910.23.

The U.S. oil benchmark soared for a second straight session Tuesday to close at its highest level of 2015. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May rose $1.84, or 3.5%, to close at $53.98 a barrel—the highest settlement since Dec. 30. Over the past two sessions, May crude has gained nearly 10%.

FedEx Corp’s $4.8 billion bid Tuesday for TNT Express took the world’s last large potential package delivery acquisition target off the table, marking a victory in FedEx’s battle to gain market share from rival United Parcel Service Inc.