Stocks Bogged Down by Falling Oil Prices

Stocks tried to fight it, but they were too weighed down by the drop in oil to eke out even a small a gain. The Dow closed 145 points lower, the S&P 500 finished 13 points in the red and the Nasdaq closed down almost 4 points.

Oil got whipsawed in the last two hours of trade. Earlier Tuesday, oil prices showed severe signs of breaking down, tumbling before noon below $37 a barrel for the first time in nearly seven years. It closed out the day at $37.56 a barrel. Overseas, the Brent market also breached a key level, falling below $40 per barrel at one point.

Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWHC) reported earnings after the bell. The gun maker initially popped once earnings were released, after hitting an eight-year high during the trading session. The company raised its full-year forecast for 2016 revenue and its outlook for net income. Since December 2, the stock is up more than 14%.

Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) was down almost 2% Tuesday after 80 students in Massachusetts reported feeling ill after eating at a Chipotle near Boston College's campus. The company says this is not directly related to the E.coli scare that sickened 52, but that this specific case may be caused by Norovirus at that location.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is at it again, upping his stake in Cheniere for the 8th time! According to reports, Icahn now holds 13.8% of the struggling energy company. The stock closed up a percent..