Stocks Ended Mostly Lower, Eyed on Quarterly Reports

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday as healthcare companies lost ground and investors eyed upcoming quarterly reports that are expected to show a dip in corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 13.76 points, or 0.08%, to 16,790.19. The S&P 500 fell 7.13 points, or 0.36%, to 1,979.92. The Nasdaq Composite was down 32.90 points, or 0.69%, to 4,848.36.

The largest 500 U.S. companies would owe an estimated $620 billion in U.S. taxes were it not for the more than $2.1 trillion in offshore cash that most of the firms hold in foreign tax havens, according to a study released Tuesday.

Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel on Tuesday, on a mix of technical buying and industry talk as well as U.S. government data suggesting the global supply glut could be ebbing. Brent settled up $2.67, or 5.4 percent, at $51.92 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, settled up $2.27, or 4.9 percent, at $48.53.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI) stands to lose $40 million of operating profit a week from a strike of its plants by the U.S. labor union United Auto Workers, said an analyst with the Center for Automotive Research.