Stocks Opened Lower as Oil Slumped

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, as a slump in oil prices hit energy and materials companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 91.87 points, or 0.42%, to 17,443.52. The S&P 500 shed 8.55 points, or 0.42%, to 2,028.50. The Nasdaq Composite was down 12.70 points, or 0.27%, to 4,754.09.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, reflecting growing concerns that a two-month rally may be in danger of fizzling, while analysts forecast another rise to record levels for U.S. crude stockpiles. May West Texas intermediate crude fell 66 cents, or 1.7%, to $38.73 a barrel, while May Brent crude dropped by 82 cents, or 2%, to $39.45 a barrel.

Home values in 20 U.S. cities kept climbing in January, a sign the limited supply of available properties may push prices out of reach for some buyers.The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 5.7 percent from January 2015, following a 5.6 percent gain in the year ended in December.

Home builder Lennar Corp. continued to log another quarter of double-digit percentage gains in key metrics. The company’s earnings and revenue also beat analysts’ marks. Lennar reported a profit for the three months ended Feb. 29 of $144.1 million, or 63 cents a share, up from $115 million, or 50 cents a share, a year prior. Revenue grew 21% to $1.99 billion.

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