Stocks Ended Sharply Lower, Dragged by Tech and Financial

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday, as technology and financial stocks saw particular weakness. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 344.89 points, or 1.43%, to 23,857.71. The S&P 500 dropped 45.93 points, or 1.73%, to 2,612.62. The Nasdaq Composite fell 211.74 points, or 2.93%, to 7,008.81.

Oil settled lower Tuesday, pressured ahead of a U.S. government report that is expected to show a weekly rise in crude supplies. May West Texas Intermediate crude shed 30 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $65.25 a barrel. May Brent crude fell a penny to finish at $70.11 a barrel.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU) reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales above Wall Street expectations. Lululemon said it earned $120 million, or 88 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $136 million, or 99 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 18% to $928.8 million, from $790 million a year ago.