Stocks Closed Lower as Energy and Health-Care Weighed

U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday, driven by losses in the energy and health-care sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 29.58 points, or 0.14%, to 20,924.76. The S&P 500 was down 6.92 points, or 0.29%, to 2,368.39. The Nasdaq Composite declined 15.25 points, or 0.26%, to 5,833.93.

Oil prices finished with a slight loss on Tuesday, sticking to a very tight trading range, as traders weighed continued crude output cuts among major producers against expectations for further increases in U.S. production and inventories. April West Texas Intermediate crude fell 6 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $53.14 a barrel. May Brent crude lost 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $55.92 a barrel.

H&R Block Inc. (HRB), the tax preparer and tax software maker, reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and beat revenue expectations. H&R Block reported a net loss of $101 million, or 49 cents a share, compared with a loss of 34 cents a share in the same period last year. Revenue fell to $452 million from $475 million a year ago.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN)’s earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter came in a penny a share short of analysts’ estimates. The retailer reported net income of $64 million, or 55 cents a share, on sales of $1.03 billion.