U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Tuesday as corporations reported earnings that disappointed and orders for U.S. business equipment unexpectedly declined in December. In U.S. economic news, orders for business equipment fell 3.4 percent last month, illustrating the impact of the slowing global economy on U.S. multinationals. Consumer confidence came in at 102.9 in January, the best read since August of 2007, while new-home sales came in at 481,000 in December. Separately, home prices in 20 cities rose 4.3 percent in November, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values. The dollar gained against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery rose $1.08 to $46.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures climbed $12.30 to $1,291.70 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 291.49, or 1.7 percent, to 17,387.21. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 27.53, or 1.3 percent, to 2,029.56. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 90.27, or 1.9 percent, to 4,681.50.