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Stocks fall, oil plummets 7%

After staying positive for most of Tuesday’s session, the S&P and Dow closed lower, while crude oil (CL=F) continued its precipitous decline.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.15%, or 4.21 points, and the Dow (^DJI) tumbled 0.40%, or 100.69 points. The Nasdaq (^IXIC) was unchanged at the end of Tuesday’s trading session.

Crude oil fell for twelve straight sessions on Tuesday – its longest losing streak in history. The commodity is still firmly in a bear market, or down more than 27% from the highs it hit in early October. Oil was down nearly 7% and had its worst day in three years. WTI crude oil settled at $55.69 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Nat gas (NG=F) surged 8% and for a three-day win streak. The commodity was at its highest level in four years as of market close and has soared nearly 16% so far in November.

NEWS: Amazon announces second and third headquarters, U.S. and China resume trade talks

Amazon has chosen New York City and Northern Virginia for its second and third headquarters, according to the company. In a formal announcement from the company, Amazon will be investing $5 billion and bringing on 50,000 new employees between the two locations. Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said, “we are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia. These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.”

The U.S. and China have resumed trade talks ahead of the G-20 meeting scheduled for the end of November in Argentina. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He spoke over the phone on Friday and Liu is expected to visit Washington soon, according to a report from the South China Morning Post.

Across the pond, Italy is expected to re-submit a high-spending budget to the European Union today as part of a stimulus plan for the country. It is expected that the EU will reject the proposal for the second time.

STOCKS: Home Depot crushes earnings, and Cronos Group’s sales soar 186%

Home improvement giant Home Depot shares closed lower on Tuesday despite reporting blowout earnings and raising outlook for the full year. The company beat on both the top and bottom lines and sales, a key metric for retailers, grew by 4.8% globally versus the 4.7% growth that was expected by analysts.

Cronos Group (CRON) shares sank after reporting an earnings miss. The company reported an earnings loss of 4 cents per share. Nevertheless, Cronos reported revenue of C$3.76 million, up 186% year over year. Kilograms sold also rose 213% year over year.

ECON: Small business optimism near record highs

NFIB small business optimism data for October was released Tuesday morning. October’s reading came in at 107.4 which was down from the previous month’s reading of 107.9. Economists were expecting a reading of 108.0 for October. September’s reading was the third largest reading in the survey’s 45-year history, according to the NFIB.

Heidi Chung is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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