* Weak housing figures disappoint
* Commodity index falls after six sessions up
* Caterpillar, Apple rise on solid earnings
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Recasts, changes byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks retreated on
Tuesday, marking the third pullback in 12 sessions, as
disappointing housing and inflation data prompted investors to
book recent gains despite strong results from bellwethers,
including Apple and Caterpillar.
New construction of U.S. homes rose less than expected in
September and U.S. producer prices posted an unexpected
decline, both pointing to an anemic economic recovery. For
details, see []
Shares of companies in the materials sector declined as
commodity prices fell. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB commodity
index <.CRB> was off for the first time in seven sessions.
Crude oil futures <CLc1> slipped as well, and energy shares
declined.
Shares of home builders also fell, with the Dow Jones home
construction index <.DJUSHB> down 2 percent.
"The market is trying to absorb all the earnings news and
see where the economy stands. The market has rallied recently
pretty good, so it's giving back some of the gains," said Giri
Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle,
Illinois.
"Off the weaker housing data, people are forecasting a
little bit weaker economy and that is hurting commodities, as
the economy may not be as strong as previously expected."
Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N> shares hit a 12-month high after
the machinery maker's third-quarter earnings soared past
expectations.
Caterpillar, up 3.4 percent at $59.80, was the Dow's <>
best performer, even as the industrial average dropped 70.43
points, or 0.70 percent, to 10,021.76. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> fell 7.88 points, or 0.72 percent, to
1,090.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> lost 14.29 points,
or 0.66 percent, to 2,162.03.
DuPont <DD.N> shares fell 2.7 percent to $33.67, making it
a top drag in the S&P materials sector and the Dow industrials
after the chemical maker posted higher-than-expected
third-quarter profit, but revenue fell short of Wall Street
estimates. [].
Among other blue-chips reporting Tuesday, United
Technologies Corp <UTX.N> was off 0.7 percent at $65.00 after
its profit fell from the year-ago quarter. Pfizer Inc <PFE.N>
fell 1.3 percent to $17.74 despite beating profit
expectations.
Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> fell 1.2 percent to $54.13 after
reporting sales that missed expectations. [].
Also weighing on stocks was crude oil, which fell after
eight straight trading days of gains as the NYMEX November
crude contract approached expiration. U.S. crude oil futures
<CLc1> slid 0.6 percent, or 52 cents, to settle at $79.09 a
barrel. []
Shares of Dow components Chevron Corp <CVX.N> and Exxon
Mobil Corp <XOM.N> fell about 1 percent, with Chevron at $76.90
and Exxon at $72.96.
Apple Inc <AAPL.O> posted earnings and sales that were
higher than expected in quarterly results released after
Monday's closing bell. On Tuesday, brokerages lifted their
price targets on the iPhone maker's stock to as much as $280,
implying a gain of about 40 percent from current levels. Apple
shares gained 4.8 percent to $198.94. [].
In spite of Tuesday's decline, the stock market's trend in
the third quarter has been mostly positive. U.S. stocks have
risen steadily as S&P 500 companies have largely exceeded
earnings expectations. The S&P 500 was up 5.5 percent in the
last 10 trading days.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
