NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks were sharply lower on Tuesday, dragged down by fears that next week's Federal Reserve meeting will signal a rate hike sooner rather than later and as negotiations over Greece's future appeared at a stalemate. 

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average erased all gains for the year. The S&P 500 was down 1.2% on Tuesday, and the Dow fell 1.3%. The Nasdaq slid 1.5%. The tech-heavy index on Tuesday was marking the 15th anniversary of its March 2000 peak.

The Fed will hold a two-day meeting beginning on March 17, after which investors hope Fed Chair Janet Yellen will give further hints as to when a rate hike could occur. Economists anticipate the Fed will remove its "patient" language from its release, a signal that could mean a mid-summer rate hike.

"While broader market focus remains on global themes, investors continue to look ahead toward next week's FOMC meeting, where we expect the Fed to drop the 'patient' reference from their statement," said TD Securities' U.S. strategist Gennadiy Goldberg in a note.

The U.S. dollar was surging on the prospect of higher U.S. rates. The greenback was up 1% against the euro, 0.3% against the British pound, 0.41% against the Aussie dollar, and 1.1% against the Swiss franc. Crude oil slipped against the strong dollar. West Texas Intermediate was down 1.4% to $49.31 a barrel. 

The January Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) showed 5 million job openings compared to a forecast 5.075 million. The total was little changed from December.  

European markets were sharply lower as tensions ran hot ahead of Wednesday's meeting between Greece and its eurozone creditors. In a press conference, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said, "My key message today was that we have spent now two weeks apparently discussing who meets whom where, in what configuration and on what agenda and it's a complete waste of time."

China's consumer prices increased at a more rapid pace than expected in February, rebounding from five-year lows a month earlier. Consumer inflation grew at 1.4%, higher than forecast 1% growth. Producer prices slid 4.8%, worse than a 4.3% decline in January. However, the Lunar New Year at this time of year makes data volatile.

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse (CS) - Get Report jumped more than 6% after CEO Brady Dougan confirmed he will step down in June. Dougan has overseen several legal dramas and poor performance in his eight-year tenure. Over the past 12 months, shares have fallen 27%.

Barnes & Noble (BKS) - Get Report slid nearly 5% as quarterly profit missed estimates and revenue dropped 1.5%. For the full year, the bookstore chain expects comparable-store sales to be in the negative low-single digits, while its Nook branch is expected in the red again. 

United Natural Foods (UNFI) - Get Report sank 6.8% after issuing disappointing full-year revenue guidance. The company anticipates sales no higher than $8.29 billion, less than analysts' forecasts of $8.34 billion. 

Twitter (TWTR) - Get Report was 2.7% lower after purchasing live-video streaming app Periscope for around $100 million, according to TheWall Street Journal. The price tag makes it one of Twitter's most expensive acquisitions.

Qualcomm (QCOM) - Get Report added 0.2% after announcing a $15 billion buyback program to replenish its current $2.1 billion program. Over the next 12 months, the company plans to purchase $10 billion worth of stock. Its quarterly dividend was also increased by 14% to 48 cents a share.

Urban Outfitters (URBN) - Get Report surged 8.5% after the retailer reported a better-than-expected quarter with sales above a record-breaking $1 billion and comparable-store sales up 6%.

Apple (AAPL) - Get Report was down 1.7% a day after sharing details about its Apple Watch at an event on Monday. Some of the device's features include Apple Pay, social media access, voice commands with Siri and health and exercise tracking. Pricing starts at $349; the most expensive model is priced at $10,000.