Stocks Opened Lower; US Trade Deficit Widened

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday after the report showed that US trade deficit expanded in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 4.95 points, or 0.03%, to 17,371.19. The S&P 500 lost 3.68 points, or 0.18%, lto 2,014.13. The Nasdaq Composite was down 10.01 points, or 0.22%, to 4,628.90.

The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened in September as exports hit a five-month low, suggesting slowing global demand could undercut economic growth in the final three months of the year.The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the trade gap increased 7.6 percent to $43.03 billion.

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 5.6 percent in September compared to a year earlier, according to a new report Tuesday from financial information company CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX) of Irvine.

The euro zone will need another year to reach even a modest level of economic growth, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The EU executive cut its forecasts, saying the euro zone economy would expand by 0.8 percent this year, 1.1 percent next year and by 1.7 percent in 2016 — a level the Commission said six months ago would be achieved next year.

Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW.N) posted its strongest growth in quarterly same-restaurant sales in North America in two years. Burger King reported a loss of $23.5 million, or 7 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $68.2 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier, mainly due to expenses related to the Tim Hortons deal. Revenue rose 1.4 percent to $278.9 million.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) reported quarterly results which showed net income rising 15.5 percent to $1.11 billion for the July-September period, meeting forecasts.