Stocks Struggled at Open, Oil Dropped

U.S. stocks struggled at open on Tuesday as a decline in oil prices kept a lid on gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 19.40 points, or 0.10%, to 19,078.50. The S&P 500 was down 2.84 points, or 0.13%, to 2,198.88. The Nasdaq Composite shed 7.96 points, or 0.15%, to 5,360.86.

The price of oil dropped on Tuesday as it became uncertain whether OPEC countries might reach an agreement to cut crude production at their meeting this week. Benchmark U.S. crude fell another $1.22 to $45.86 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, tumbled $1.20 to $47.04 in London.

The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, notching its best performance in two years, buoyed by strong consumer spending and a surge in soybean exports. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.2 percent annual rate instead of the previously reported 2.9 percent pace, the Commerce Department said in its second GDP estimate on Tuesday.

U.S. home prices have fully recovered from their steep plunge during the housing bust and Great Recession, according to a private measure. The Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index is slightly above the peak it set in July 2006, after rising 5.5 percent in September from a year earlier.

Tiffany & Co. reported a surprise increase in sales in the latest quarter thanks to growth in some international markets. Tiffany earned $95.1 million, or 76 cents a share, compared with $91 million, or 70 cents a share, a year earlier.