Stocks erased heavy early losses to close mixed on Tuesday. The Dow lost -45.10, the S&P 500 -4.59, while the Nasdaq Composite gained +1.68.

Intel (INTC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) worried investors after the company lowered its outlook for the current quarter.

Citigroup (C | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) lost more than 4% after analysts at Merrill Lynch lowered their earnings forecast for the company.

And Google (GOOG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) hit a 52-week low, weighing on the tech sector.

However, some afternoon cheer was provided by Cisco Systems (CSCO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), after CEO John Chambers said he was comfortable with the company's long-term growth prospects.

Ambac Financial (ABK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) also contributed to the afternoon recovery, after yet another story emerged that the company is close to receiving a bailout.