* 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 [STXNEWS/US] (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 [ID:nN20424995]
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
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
Caterpillar, up 3.4 percent at $59.80, was the Dow's <.DJI> 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 <.IXIC> lost 14.29 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,162.03.
DuPont
Among other blue-chips reporting Tuesday, United
Technologies Corp
Coca-Cola Co
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
Shares of Dow components Chevron Corp
Apple Inc
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)