​U.S. stocks fall along with commodities prices

NEW YORK - Stocks moved lower Tuesday, ending three days of gains, as commodity prices retreated. Crude oil sank more than 4 percent. Investors remained worried about China as the country cut the value of its currency against the dollar yet again. Investors were also discouraged by a report showing that U.S. consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in seven months.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 189 points, or 1.1 percent, to close at 16,432. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 25 points, or 1.3 percent, to end at 1,921, and the Nasdaq composite fell 67 points, or 1.5 percent, finishing at 4,504.

Oil prices moved lower after the International Energy Agency said on Monday it does not expect oil prices to recover significantly until 2017, but sees slower growth in global supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.44 to $31.92 a barrel, while Brent crude, which is used to price oil internationally, fell $1.42 to $33.27 a barrel in London.

Investors were watching developments out of China, where the People's Bank of China announced it had cut its daily rate between the yuan and the dollar more than expected. The weakening yuan was a major cause of market turmoil in August 2015 as investors worried that it signaled a slowdown in China's economy.

A report from the Conference Board showed U.S. consumer confidence fell to 92.2 in February, down sharply from a reading of 97.8 in January and the lowest level since July. Consumers expressed worries about deteriorating business conditions and turbulence in the financial markets for their drop in confidence.

Fitbit (FIT), maker of wearable fitness trackers, fell $3.44, or 21 percent, to $13.08 after the company issued a weak forecast for 2016.

Dow member United Technologies (UTX) was down 87 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $91.55 after the company rejected a merger offer from Honeywell (HON).

U.S. government bond prices were roughly flat. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 1.74 percent from 1.75 percent a day earlier. The dollar fell to 112.13 yen from 112.83 yen while the euro weakened to $1.1005 from $1.1026.