Stocks Stumbled as Oil Slumped

U.S. stocks slid on Tuesday, hurt by pressure from a renewed drop in oil prices. At close, the Dow industrial Average fell 188.88 points, or 1.14%, to 16,431.78. The S&P 500 lost 24.23 points, or 1.25%, to 1,921.27. The Nasdaq Composite slid 67.02 points, or 1.47%, to 4,503.58.

Crude futures settled with a sharp loss on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, shattered any hopes that producers would cut back on output to help alleviate the world’s excess supplies. April West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.52, or 4.6%, to settle at $31.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Consumers confidence fell in February to the lowest level in seven months, as American became a bit more pessimistic about job prospects and business conditions. The consumer confidence index dropped to 92.2 from a revised 97.8 in January, the Conference Board said Tuesday.

Viacom Inc (VIAB.O) is considering selling a “significant” minority stake in its Paramount Pictures movie studio, Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said on Tuesday. Viacom has been approached by several strategic investors and has retained PJT Partners as its financial adviser, Dauman said at a media conference.

Time Inc (TIME.N), publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and Time magazines, has been exploring a bid to acquire Yahoo Inc’s (YHOO.O) core Internet business for several weeks, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday.