By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Oil lower as investors wait for news on Iran nuke talks

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street was setting up for a tough trading session on Tuesday, as investors sold positions in the wake of a winning streak in stocks and as investors reassessed their investments ahead of what's feared to be a disappointing stretch for corporate quarterly results.

Extending earlier losses, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) pulled back more than 100 points, or 0.6%, to 17,757, while those for the S&P 500 (ESM5) fell 12.35 points, or 0.6%, to 2,063.25. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 (NQM5) fell 22.75 points, or 0.5%, to 4,349.50.

Some market players attributed what was setting up to be on down day on Wall Street after two-sessions of robust moves higher to investors selling to solidify previous gains.

Hand-wringing over the dollar's strength and corporate performance as a sign of the strength of the U.S. economy ahead of the closely watched jobs report set for Friday.

"I think it is profit taking from yesterday, combined with dollar strength and end of quarter positioning that pushes futures down. Also, there is always some jostling for position before the NFP [nonfarm payroll report]," said Wouter Sturkenboom, senior investment strategist at Russell Investments in London, in emailed comments.

Markets booked solid gains booked on Monday, which were spurred along by dovish comments from China's central-bank chief and corporate-deal news. Tuesday also marks the end of the first quarter.

The S&P 500 (SPX) is set to end the first quarter up 1.3%, which would mark its ninth-straight winning quarter. For the month of March, the index is looking at a 0.9% loss. Among other highlights, the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) is set to log a 4.5% gain in the quarter, the longest quarterly winning streak in its history.

The markets are also looking ahead to a crop of Federal Reserve speakers, along with a number of economic reports, including Case-Shiller home prices Tuesday.

Need to Know: Don't be the 6-foot-tall man about to drown in this market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dont-be-the-6-foot-tall-man-about-to-drown-in-this-market-2015-03-31)

Analysts also noted the dollar was waking up from its slumber. The dollar (EURUSD) rose notably against the euro on Monday as investors waited for U.S. economic reports later in the week. That in turn was weighing on commodity prices.

"In general, U.S. equities are in a difficult position with too many headwinds in place, preventing a sustainable rally from developing," added Sturkenboom.

Home prices and lots of Fedspeak: Data for Tuesday includes Case-Shiller home prices for February, due at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, while the Chicago-area purchasing managers index for March is due at 9:45 a.m. Eastern. At 10 a.m. Eastern, the report on consumer confidence for March is scheduled.

Three Fed speakers are on tap. Two are voting members on the Federal Open Market Committee: Richmond Fed Jeffrey will speak on the economic outlook to the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce at 8 a.m. Eastern, while Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart will give welcoming remarks at the Atlanta Fed conference at 8:50 a.m. Eastern.

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, a nonvoting member, will moderate a panel on the future of banking at an Atlanta Fed conference at 8:50 a.m. Eastern.

Stocks to watch: Shares of McDonald's Corp. (MCD) could draw some attention after the fast-food giant said it would start testing all-day breakfasts in San Diego in April (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-to-give-all-day-breakfast-a-try-2015-03-30).

IBM Corp. (IBM) said Tuesday it plans to invest $3 billion in a new "Internet of Things" business that will help customers gather and analyze data from sensor-equipped devices and smartphones. Alongside that, it announced a partnership with the Weather Company on data analysis for businesses.

CBRE Group Inc.(CBG) said it would buy Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) workplace solutions business in a deal worth $1.475 billion.

U.S. cable TV operator Cablevision Systems Corp.(CVC) is eyeing a deal to buy the New York Daily News that would value the newspaper at $1, Reuters reported, citing sources.

Other markets: European stocks retreated after data showed eurozone unemployment was still above expectations at 11.3% in February, after upward revisions to prior months. Reports (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-bailout-revision-talks-end-without-deal-report-2015-03-31) that Greek bailout-revision talks ended without a deal also didn't help sentiment for Europe stocks.

Asian stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-end-mixed-after-previous-china-led-rally-2015-03-31) closed on a mixed note, but the quarter produced double-digit wins for the Nikkei 225 index and the Shanghai Composite Index .

Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-fall-as-iran-nuclear-talks-approach-deadline-2015-03-31)(CLK5) fell as talks over Iran's nuclear talks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iran-deal-put-at-risk-by-uncertainty-over-khamenei-2015-03-31) neared a deadline and dollar strength weighed. Gold (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-weakens-for-third-straight-session-2015-03-31)(GCJ5) marked another losing session.

Read: Oil could fall below $30 a barrel, but here's why that is a good thing (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-could-fall-below-30-a-barrel-but-heres-why-thats-a-good-thing-2015-03-30)

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