Investing.com – U.S. stocks were down after the open on Tuesday, as market sentiment was weighed by downbeat housing data and as investors digested a flurry of corporate earnings reports.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.17%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 0.37%.
Earlier in the day, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index fell more-than-expected in November, declining by 1.6%. Analysts expected the house price index to drop by 1.4% in November.
Following the release of the report, shares in the world’s largest home improvement retailer Home Depot dropped 0.79%, while shares in homebuilder Builders FirstSource tumbled 0.99%.
Meanwhile, shares in the financial sector were broadly lower after the largest U.S. lender Bank of America saw shares tumble 1.51% after its Countrywide Financial unit was named in a lawsuit for misleading investors in regards to mortgage-backed securities.
Elsewhere, shares in rival Goldman Sachs plunged 1.71%, while Citigroup saw shares decline 0.79%.
In earnings news, shares in pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson plummeted 2.35% after the company reported fourth quarter revenue fell by 5.5% to USD15.64 billion, falling short of market expectations for revenue of USD16.02 billion.
U.S. listed shares of Europe’s largest chipmaker STMicroelectronics tumbled 4.98% after it posted lower-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. The company said that revenue in the quarter totaled USD3.86 billion, falling short of analysts’ expectations for revenue of USD3.91 billion.
Also Tuesday, shares in the third largest U.S. chemical manufacturer DuPont fell 0.88% after the company lifted its earnings outlook for 2011. The company reported a 15% drop in fourth quarter net income to USD376 million, as results were weighed by the USD5.8 billion acquisition of the world’s largest maker of food ingredients Danisco in early January.
Shares in industrial manufacturer 3M dropped 2.13% after the company said that fourth quarter profit fell by 1% to USD928 million, despite seeing a 10% increase in sales during the quarter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.16%, Germany's DAX was up 0.29%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slumped 0.19%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on consumer confidence, while President Barack Obama was due to deliver his State of the Union address.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.17%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 0.37%.
Earlier in the day, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index fell more-than-expected in November, declining by 1.6%. Analysts expected the house price index to drop by 1.4% in November.
Following the release of the report, shares in the world’s largest home improvement retailer Home Depot dropped 0.79%, while shares in homebuilder Builders FirstSource tumbled 0.99%.
Meanwhile, shares in the financial sector were broadly lower after the largest U.S. lender Bank of America saw shares tumble 1.51% after its Countrywide Financial unit was named in a lawsuit for misleading investors in regards to mortgage-backed securities.
Elsewhere, shares in rival Goldman Sachs plunged 1.71%, while Citigroup saw shares decline 0.79%.
In earnings news, shares in pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson plummeted 2.35% after the company reported fourth quarter revenue fell by 5.5% to USD15.64 billion, falling short of market expectations for revenue of USD16.02 billion.
U.S. listed shares of Europe’s largest chipmaker STMicroelectronics tumbled 4.98% after it posted lower-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. The company said that revenue in the quarter totaled USD3.86 billion, falling short of analysts’ expectations for revenue of USD3.91 billion.
Also Tuesday, shares in the third largest U.S. chemical manufacturer DuPont fell 0.88% after the company lifted its earnings outlook for 2011. The company reported a 15% drop in fourth quarter net income to USD376 million, as results were weighed by the USD5.8 billion acquisition of the world’s largest maker of food ingredients Danisco in early January.
Shares in industrial manufacturer 3M dropped 2.13% after the company said that fourth quarter profit fell by 1% to USD928 million, despite seeing a 10% increase in sales during the quarter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.16%, Germany's DAX was up 0.29%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slumped 0.19%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on consumer confidence, while President Barack Obama was due to deliver his State of the Union address.