Stocks Finished Mixed, Apple Fell 2%

U.S. stocks closed modestly higher on Tuesday, as Wall Street fought off a new slump in oil prices but continued to deal with the aftershocks of Monday’s China-inspired rout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 9.72 points, or 0.06%, to 17,158.66. The S&P 500 gained 4.05 points, or 0.20%, to 2,016.71. The Nasdaq Composite was down 11.66 points, or 0.24%, to 4,891.43.

Crude-oil prices settled under $36 a barrel on Tuesday, marking their lowest settlement in about two weeks. February West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 79 cents, or 2.2%, to settle at $35.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Deutsche Bank economists on Tuesday reduced their forecast on U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2015 and first quarter of 2016 due to recent disappointing data on trade, construction spending and manufacturing activity.

Apple Inc. fell after Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review reported the U.S. company would reduce the output of its latest iPhones by about 30 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

Spirit Airlines Inc on Tuesday named board member Robert Fornaro as chief executive officer. Investors welcomed the appointment of the former AirTran Holdings Inc CEO as a new start for Spirit, a U.S. carrier that has grown rapidly in the past five years by marketing ultra-low fares with heavy restrictions.