US markets turn lower after 3-day streak

U.S. equity markets closed lower Tuesday as investors considered a mixed batch of corporate reports. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 32.41 points or 0.21 percent to 15,451.85, the first drop after three sessions of closing at record highs. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 also dropped after three days of record highs. The index shed 6.24 points, 0.37 percent, to 1,676.26. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index shed 8.99 points or 0.25 percent to 3,598.50. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,082 stocks advanced and 1,963 declined on a volume of 3 billion shares traded. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan added 0.64 percent or 92.87 points to 14,599.12. In Britain, the FTSE 100 lost 0.45 percent or 29.76 points to 6,556.35. The 10-year U.S. treasury note rose 2/32 to yield 2.537 percent. Gold gained 0.54 percent or $6.80 to $1,290.40 per troy ounce. Silver gained 13.1 cents to $19.97 per ounce, up 0.66 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 38 cents in after-hours trading to reach $105.53 per barrel. The euro rose to $1.3156 against the dollar. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 99.12 yen. On the Chicago Board of Trade, December corn added 7 3/4 cents to $5.11 1/4, November soybeans gained 22 1/4 cents to $12.86 and September wheat was unchanged at $6.69.