Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, after the release of higher-than-expected U.S. home price data, as investors awaited a consumer confidence report later in the trading session.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.27%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.20%, while the Nasdaq Composite index eased 0.07%.
Standard & Poor’s with Case-Shiller reported that its house price index rose 13.4% in December from a year earlier, compared to forecasts for a 13.3% gain, following a rise of 13.7% in November.
Investors remained cautious after a recent series of disappointing U.S. economic indicators, including reports on jobs growth, retail sales and housing sparked concerns that the economic recovery has lost momentum since the end of last year.
International Business Machines added 0.14% after the tech giant promised to keep 3,100 jobs in its home state of New York through the next two years, therefore restoring positions the company eliminated last year.
Adding to gains, LinkedIn Corp. advanced 0.76% amid news it is establishing a Chinese-language website that will restrict some content in order to comply with state censorship rules.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. edged up 0.12% following reports the retailer's Mexican and Central American unit plans to spend $1.1 billion to open stores and improve its e-commerce technology, in a move to boost growth in the region as U.S. sales are slowing.
On the downside, JPMorgan Chase dropped 0.71% as the U.S. lender was holding its investor day in New York, with presentations from Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon.
In earnings news, Home Depot reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat market expectations and hiked its quarterly dividend by 21%, sending shares in the home-improvement retailer up 2.42% at the open of the U.S. trading session.
Macy's rallied 2.83%, even as the department-store chain reported an increase in fourth-quarter profit below analysts' expectations.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included T-Mobile U.S. and Dreamworks Animation, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.46%, Germany's DAX retreated 0.44%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.73%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.32%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.44%.