Stocks Closed Mildly Lower as Treasures Stabilized

U.S. stocks closed mildly lower on Tuesday as investors found some relief from a slight recovery in bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36.94 points, or 0.20%, to 18,068.23. The S&P 500 dropped 6.21 points, or 0.29%, to 2,099.12. The Nasdaq Composite shed 17.38 points, or 0.35%, to 4,976.19.

U.S. benchmark 10-year yields had touched 2.36 percent before reversing, while Treasury 30-year yields fell two basis points to 3.02 percent, after adding 14 basis points Monday.

Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) said it would buy AOL Inc (AOL.N) in a $4.4 billion deal that gives the biggest U.S. wireless
carrier access to AOL’s mobile video platform and content including the Huffington Post news website. The offer of $50 per share represents a premium of 17.4 percent to AOL’s Monday close of $42.59.

Sprint Corporation and Verizon Wireless will pay a combined $158 million for unauthorized charges on consumers’ cell phone bills, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today.

Oil futures settled above $60 a barrel on Tuesday — at their second-highest level of the year — buoyed by a weaker dollar as traders bet that upcoming data will show a decline in U.S. crude supplies.