NEW YORK, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday as the first major sell-off this year intensified.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 362.59 points, or 1.37 percent, to 26,076.89. The S&P 500 decreased 31.10 points, or 1.09 percent, to 2,822.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 64.02 points, or 0.86 percent, to 7,402.48.

The CBOE Volatility index, widely considered the best fear gauge in the stock market, rose 6.86 percent to 14.79.

On the economic front, the Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence rose to 125.4 in January, higher than estimated.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve kicked off its latest two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. Market expectations for a rate hike are 5.2 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.