Stocks Closed Lower on Concerns of ECB Tightening

U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday following a report that the European Central Bank could start winding down its quantitative easing program ahead of schedule. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 85.40 points, or 0.47%, to 18,168.45. The S&P 500 declined 10.71 points, or 0.50%, to 2,150.49. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 11.22 points, or 0.21%, to 5,289.66.

The ECB may gradually scale back its bond purchases of 80 billion euros ($89.7 billion) a month before the program’s scheduled March 2017 conclusion, Bloomberg reported.

Oil futures on Tuesday settled marginally lower, as traders continued to assess the impact of a preliminary OPEC output pact. November West Texas Intermediate crude added lost 12 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $48.69 a barrel. December Brent crude slipped 2 cents, or less than 0.1%, to end at $50.87 a barrel.

Ericsson AB said Tuesday that it plans to lay off nearly 20% of its home-country workforce, as the Swedish maker of telecom-network equipment races to cut costs amid intensifying competition from Chinese rivals and weak demand for its specialty wireless products.

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