US markets dip as energy, oil prices fall

NEW YORK

It was another down day for American stocks Tuesday spurred by a continuing decline in oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day at 16,009.45 points, losing 0.11 percent.

The Nasdaq lost 0.35 percent to close at 4,268.76 points. And the S&P 500 shaved 0.06 percent to end the day at 1,852.37 points.

After falling 27.78 percent Monday, shares of Chesapeake Energy, one of the largest natural gas companies in the U.S., declined 4.41 percent. Global energy giant Chevron plummeted 3.57 percent.

While the American oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate lost 4.4 percent to reach $28.39 per barrel, the global benchmark Brent crude fell by 6.5 percent to $30.73.

Losses in the U.S. were affected by the declines in the Japanese and European stock markets, which decreased by 5 and 1 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of job openings in the U.S. was higher than expected with 5.6 million in December 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Wholesale inventories fell by 0.3 percent during the same month.

U.S. markets now will focus attention on Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen's testimony to Congress on Wednesday.