Major Averages Close Slightly Lower

Updated from 3:18 p.m. EDT

Stocks closed slightly lower Tuesday as a U.S.-led military coalition struck targets in Afghanistan for the third straight day.

Preliminary closing numbers showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average with a loss of 21.73 points, or 0.2%, at 9046.21, while the Nasdaq was off 35.22 points, or 2.2%, at 1570.73. The S&P 500 lost 5.51 points, or 0.5%, to 1056.93.

In London, the FTSE 100 lost 23 points, or 0.5%, to 5010, while Germany's DAX was down 19 points, or 0.4%, at 4477. Japan's Nikkei index fell 1.9% to 10,012. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 391, or 3.9%, to 10,359.

The United Nations said the bombing campaign in Afghanistan killed four of its workers stationed about two miles outside Kabul. The workers were involved in landmine removal.

Meanwhile, Wall Street continued to resize amid a severe downturn in its underwriting business. Credit Suisse First Boston confirmed Tuesday it will cut 2,000 workers and record a $187 million loss in the third quarter, its first loss since 1997. The job cuts will reduce expenses by $1 billion. Shares of Credit Suisse Group (CSR Quote), the parent company of CSFB, fell 2.1% to $32.85.

A venture that includes a unit of Royal Dutch Petroleum(RD Quote) agreed to buy Texaco's(TX Quote) share of two U.S. refinery operations for about $2.4 billion. The venture will also assume about $1.4 billion of debt. Royal Dutch was up 18 cents to $51.37, and Texaco rose $1.73 to $70.06.

Around 4 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was down 24/32 at 103 5/32 to yield 4.60%.