US STOCKS-Wall St dips as housing, PPI data offsets earnings

                                
   * New home construction, PPI disappoint
                                
 * Caterpillar, Apple post solid earnings
                                
 * Indexes off: Dow 0.5 pct, S&P 500 0.5 pct, Nasdaq 0.4 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates to midmorning)
                                
 NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as
strong quarterly results from bellwethers such as Apple and
Caterpillar were offset by disappointing data on housing starts
and inflation.
                                
 New construction of U.S. homes rose less than expected in
September, while U.S. producer prices declined unexpectedly,
largely due to a drop in energy prices. For details, see
[ID:nN20420176] [ID:nN20421137]
                                
 "In any recovering economy, especially in the early stages
where we are now, you are going to see some weak economic
numbers, and we certainly see this in the PPI numbers and the
housing numbers," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer
of Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, New York.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 50.56
points, or 0.50 percent, to 10,041.63. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> fell 5.80 points, or 0.53 percent, to
1,092.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slid 9.36 points,
or 0.43 percent, to 2,166.96.
                                
 Apple Inc <AAPL.O> jumped 4.8 percent to $198.95, a day
after it reported quarterly profit that streaked past
estimates, as sales of iPhones and Mac personal computers hit
quarterly records. [ID:nN19395089]
                                
 Heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N> climbed 3.3
percent to $59.69 after posting stronger-than-expected
quarterly earnings and raising its full-year forecast.
[ID:nN16358657]
                                
 DuPont Co <DD.N> reported an 11 percent jump in
third-quarter profit, topping estimates, but narrowed its
earnings forecast for the year. The stock shed 2 percent to
$33.94. [ID:nN20416505]
                                
 Drugmaker Pfizer Inc's <PFE.N> quarterly profit was up and
beat estimates, while diversified U.S. manufacturer United
Technologies Corp <UTX.N> reported a drop in income, but still
beat estimates. Pfizer shares gained 2.2 percent to $18.37, and
United Tech slipped 0.5 percent to $65.10. [ID:nN208741]
[ID:nN20334533]
                                
 Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> dipped 1.5 percent to $53.97 after
reporting adjusted third-quarter earnings that were a penny
above expectations. [ID:nN20380392]
                                
 "Good earnings have increasingly been expected. This is a
market where traders have been looking for an excuse to book
some gains," added Ghriskey.
                                
 Boeing Co <BA.N> fell 4 percent to $51.38 after the
airplane maker was downgraded to "underweight" by Morgan
Stanley. The firm said the shares may face downward pressure
due to likely poor aircraft order demand. [ID:nWNAB1009]
                                
 Adecco SA <ADEN.VX>, the world's largest staffing company,
agreed to buy U.S. rival MPS Group Inc <MPS.N> for $1.3
billion. [ID:nBNG199799]. MPS shares surged 21.7 percent
$13.56.
                                
 (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey
Benkoe)