Stocks Ended Sharply Lower on Earnings Gloom

U.S.stocks fell sharply on Tuesday ahead of an upcoming quarterly reporting season that is expected to reveal sharply lower earnings. At close, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 133.68 points, or 0.75%, to 17,603.32.The S&P 500 lost 20.96 points, or 1.01%, to 2,045.17. The Nasdaq Composite fell 47.86 points, or 0.98%, to 4,843.93.

Oil futures ended lower in a choppy trading session Tuesday, unable to overcome doubts that a major global agreement to freeze production will be reached this month, and as traders await weekly U.S. supply data. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May ended with a gain of 19 cents, or 0.5%, at $35.89 a barrel. June Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 18 cents, or 0.5%, to $37.87 a barrel.

The U.S. Justice Department will file a lawsuit as soon as this week to stop oilfield services provider Halliburton Co from acquiring smaller rival Baker Hughes , a deal that would combine the No. 2 and No. 3 oil services companies.

PayPal Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Dan Schulman said Tuesday his company is canceling plans for a new global operations center in Charlotte, N.C., where PayPal would have employed more than 400 people.

Ford Motor Co. (F) plans to build a new $1.6 billion auto assembly plant in Mexico, creating about 2,800 jobs and shifting small-car production from the U.S.