Stocks Open Mildly Lower, Pfizer Earnings Disappoint

U.S. stocks opened mildly lower on Tuesday, as investors waited on more economic data and earnings reports. The Dow  Jones Industrial Average lately was off 38.03 points at 14,780.72. The S&P 500 index was off 4.97 points at  1,588.64. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.51 points to 3,301.51.

U.S. home prices rose in February compared with a year ago by the most in nearly seven years, as a growing number of  buyers bid on a limited supply of homes. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index climbed 9.3  percent in the 12 months ending in February. That’s up from an 8.1 percent gain in January

Pfizer Inc (PFE) reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and the largest U.S. drugmaker trimmed  its full-year profit outlook. The company said on Tuesday that it earned $2.75 billion, or 38 cents per share, in  the first quarter. That compared with $1.79 billion, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier.

U.S. Steel Corp. (X) the largest U.S. steelmaker by output, reported a first-quarter loss that missed analysts’  estimates after a drop in prices of the metal. The net loss narrowed to $73 million, or 51 cents a share, from $219  million, or $1.52, a year earlier.

BP reported first-quarter profit of $4.2 billion on Tuesday, after adjustment for inventory changes and one-off  items, handily beating analysts’ forecasts.

U.S. retailer Best Buy Co Inc (BBY) retreated from its ill-fated European expansion on Tuesday by selling its stake  in a joint venture to Carphone Warehouse Group (CPW.L) for less than half what it paid five years ago.

UBS’s (UBSN.VX) private bank attracted the most customer money for six years in the first quarter, recovering from a  poor end to 2012 and backing the Swiss bank’s drive to focus on managing wealthy clients’ cash. UBS’s investment  bank also beat analyst expectations