Stocks Fluctuated; US Home Prices Accelerated

U.S. stocks fluctuated in the early trading on Tuesday, as investors were cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve policy meeting that begins on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately added 31.66 points, or 0.18%, to 18,069.63. The S&P 500 was down 0.23 point, or 0.01%, to 2,108.69. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.62 points, or 0.27%, to 5,046.62.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities climbed at a faster pace than forecast in the year ended February, a sign the housing industry may be gaining momentum amid low borrowing costs and continued job growth.The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 5 percent from February 2014.

Whirlpool Corp. reported a first-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates and reduced its full-year outlook. Whirlpool reported a profit of $191 million, or $2.38 a share, up from $160 million, or $2.02 a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 11.1% to $4.85 billion.

Merck & Co. raised its earnings guidance for the year on Tuesday.Merck reported earnings of $953 million, or 33 cents a share, down from $1.71 billion, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales fell to $9.43 billion from $10.26 billion the year before.

Pfizer Inc. trimmed its full-year outlook on Tuesday amid a stronger U.S. dollar and weaker euro. For the first quarter, Pfizer posted a profit of $2.4 billion, or 38 cents a share, up from $2.3 billion, or 36 cents a share, in the prior-year period. Revenue fell 4.3% to $10.86 billion.

Coach Inc. topped fiscal third-quarter profit expectations, but missed on sales. Earnings for the quarter ended March fell to $88.1 million, or 32 cents a share, from $190.7 million, or 68 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales fell 15% to $929.3 million,

Ford Motor Co (F.N) reported a first-quarter profit that was less than analysts expected. Ford’s overall first- quarter net income fell 7 percent to $924 million, or 23 cents a share, from $989 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. The No. 2 U.S. automaker on Tuesday also maintained its full-year forecast of pretax profit between $8.5 billion and $9.5 billion.

United Parcel Service Inc.beat first-quarter profit expectations, although sales came up short. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $1.03 billion, or $1.12 a share, from $911 million, or 98 cents a share, in the year- earlier period. Revenue increased 1.4% to $13.98 billion.

Apple announced that it would increase its capital return program from $130 billion by December 2015 to $200 billion by March 2017.