U.S. stocks fell

U.S. stocks fell as IBM Corp. sank on earnings, while European equities ended the best rally since 2011. Treasuries advanced and the dollar's rally versus the euro paused.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.4 percent at 4 p.m. in New York. International Business Machines Corp. slid the most since October, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell after nine days of gains. The dollar retreated for the first time in five days, and Treasury 10-year note yields slipped three basis points.

In the absence of U.S. economic data, attention is turning to earnings as investors look for clues on the strength of American companies with the Federal Reserve poised to raise interest rates this year. About a quarter of S&P 500 members disclose results this week, including Apple Inc. after today's close. The Bloomberg Commodity Index rebounded from a 2002 low.

Today's weakness in equity markets bolstered the appeal of U.S. government debt. Treasuries rose, sending two-year note yields down from the highest in almost a month, as appetite for riskier assets waned.

The dollar weakened on Tuesday versus the euro, and an index of the U.S. currency retreated from a three-month high. The euro added 1.1 percent to $1.0942 and the yen gained 0.3 percent to 123.95 per dollar.

Those declines look set to reverse as the Fed meets next week to consider raising interest rates, diverging from central banks in much of the world.

IBM tumbled 6.4 percent after sales fell for a 13th quarter. United Technologies Corp. slid 7.8 percent after cutting its 2015 profit forecast. Novartis AG dropped 2.1 percent after reporting lower sales, while Remy Cointreau SA slipped 2.5 percent after posting revenue that missed analyst estimates.