1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks slump amid mixed earnings, diving oil

U.S. stocks suffered big losses Tuesday, as oil prices retreated further amid mixed earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 295.64 points, or 1.80 percent, to 16,153.54. The S&P 500 tumbled 36.35 points, or 1.87 percent, to 1,903.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 103.42 points, or 2.24 percent, to 4,516.95.

Oil prices continued to plunge Tuesday, with the U.S. oil settling below 30 U.S. dollars a barrel again, as hopes for a deal between OPEC and Russia on output cuts faded away.

With no major economic data due out Tuesday, quarterly results from big companies were in focus.

Alphabet (Class A), Google's parent company, rose 1.32 percent to 780.91 dollars apiece Tuesday, after the company delivered quarterly results above market estimates.

After Monday's closing bell, the tech giant said its adjusted earnings were 8.67 U.S. dollars per share for the fourth quarter of 2015, and revenue also jumped 17.8 percent to 21.3 billion dollars.

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp decreased 2.23 percent to 74.59 dollars apiece after the U.S. energy company reported a 58-percent drop in quarterly earnings.

Pfizer Inc. edged down 0.10 percent to 30.14 dollars Tuesday after the drug maker posted quarterly results slightly above expectations but guidance for 2016 still shy of forecast.

Latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the fourth quarter of 2015 are expected to decrease 4.4 percent year on year, while the revenue is forecast to decline 3.3 percent.

Overseas, European equities also ended sharply lower Tuesday. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange moved down 1.81 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index tumbled 2.28 percent.

In Asia, Chinese shares surged on Tuesday, recovering past the 2,700-point mark though turnover remained weak. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.26 percent to end at 2,749.57 points. Endit