NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday as high Treasury yields kept investors on edge.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 254.63 points, or 1.01 percent, to 24,964.75. The S&P 500 decreased 15.96 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,716.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 5.16 points, or 0.07 percent, to 7,234.31.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 2.906 percent putting pressure on the stocks.

Rising bond yields are traditionally seen as bad for stocks as it means large companies will have to spend more to finance their debts as interest rates increase.

On the earnings front, Walmart on Tuesday reported earnings that missed analysts' expectations for the holiday period.

The retail giant reported adjusted earnings per share of 1.33 U.S. dollars, lower than the 1.37 dollars expected. Shares of the company plunged more than 10 percent to close at 94.11 dollars apiece.

Meanwhile, Home Depot, also a Dow component, reported earnings that topped Wall Street's expectations. It reported adjusted fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share of 1.69 dollars, higher than 1.61 dollars expected. Shares of the company dropped 0.26 dollar to close at 186.71 dollars apiece.

For Chinese companies listed in the United States, shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba gained 1.91 percent to settle at 187.19 dollars, while shares of Chinese technology company Baidu increased 0.29 percent to close at 245.43 dollars. Enditem