FCX Freeport McMoRan Inc

By Ellie Ismailidou and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Dow drops 100 points; Energy shares tumble 1.5%, leading the losses

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, as a slump in oil prices hit energy and materials companies and weighed on the main benchmarks ahead of a key speech by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

A stronger-than-expected reading on U.S. home prices lifted home builders, such as Lennar Corp. (LEN)

The S&P 500 opened 9 points, or 0.4%, lower at 2,028, led by sharp losses in energy shares, which were down 1.4% as oil futures tumbled nearly 3%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 100 points, or 0.6%, to 17,436, led by a 6.7% drop in mining company Freeport-McMoRan Inc.(FCX). Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 15 points, or 0.3%, at 4,750.

On the U.S. economic front, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index showed house prices rose 5.7% compared with a year ago (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/city-by-city-how-house-prices-fared-in-january-2016-03-29)in January. Prices nationally are at their winter 2007 levels, and remain about 12% lower than their summer 2006 peaks.

On Monday, the S&P 500 closed less than 0.1% higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-look-to-rebuild-after-snapping-five-week-win-streak-2016-03-28), while the Dow gained a little more than 0.1%, or 19.66 points.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 29, 2016 09:51 ET (13:51 GMT)

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