Stocks Gave up Early Gains to End Lower

U.S. stocks gave up early gains to close lower on Tuesday as investors gird for a slew of corporate earnings and the possibility that resuming normal economic activity could reignite coronavirus infection rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 32.23 points, or 0.13%, to 24,101.55. The S&P 500 gave up 15.09 points, or 0.52%, to 2,863.39. The Nasdaq Composite fell 122.43 points, or 1.40%, to 8,607.73.

U.S. benchmark oil prices finished with a loss on Tuesday, giving up an earlier spike to intraday highs on the back of a report of a bomb explosion on an oil tanker in Syria. June West Texas Intermediate crude briefly traded as high of $13.69 a barrel before turning lower again to settle down by 44 cents, or 3.4%, at $12.34 a barrel. June Brent crude climbed by 47 cents, or nearly 2.4%, to $20.46 a barrel.

Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) reported its Q1 earnings on Tuesday, beating analysts’ expectations on revenue despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and a slowdown in ad revenue in March. Revenue was $33.71 billion versus $32.6 billion expected. Earnings per share was $9.87 versus $10.36 expected.