Stocks end dizzy day with a dive

A mercurial day for stock indexes ended with a dive Tuesday after a dizzying midday rally as investors watched falling oil prices and Russia's struggles with the ruble.

At the end of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 112 points, or 0.7 percent, closing at 17,069. It had been up as much as 246 points at midday before turning lower in the afternoon.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed down nearly 17 points, or 0.9 percent, at 1,972.7. The Nasdaq composite lost 57.3 points, or 1.2 percent, to end the day at 4,547.8.

Consumer discretionary stocks led the declines. Energy companies rose as investors were relieved to see the price of oil stabilize after a prolonged rout.

Russia's ruble regained some ground against the dollar after that country's central bank sharply raised interest rates in an effort to halt the currency's slide. The ruble, under pressure from falling oil prices and western sanctions over Moscow's conflict with Ukraine, had fallen as much as 20 percent before recovering.

OIL'S IMPACT: The volatility in financial markets is likely to last until oil prices find a floor, said Marc Zabicki, senior market strategist at Ameriprise Financial.

"Lower oil prices certainly are a net positive for U.S. consumer spending," he said. "But there's a contagion risk out there that investors have an eye on. Namely, what does it do to shale gas players, and what does it mean to the banks that lend to them?"

ROUGH PATCH: December, usually one of the market's best months, hasn't been living up to its reputation. Since reaching a record high on Dec. 5, the S&P 500 has fallen into a slump, losing ground on five of the past six trading days. Energy companies have been hit the hardest, a result of the ongoing slump in crude. The S&P 500 has lost 3 percent so far this month.