Stocks Opened Lower after Economic Data

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday as positive readings on recent economic data have stoked fears that an interest- rate hikes may come sooner than anticipated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately slipped 120.89 points, or 0.66%, to 18,111.13. The S&P 500 was down 11.92 points, or 0.56%, to 2,114.14. The Nasdaq Composite fell 29.17 points, or 0.57%, to 5,060.19.

U.S. home prices rose at a steady pace in March, pushed higher by a limited supply of houses for sale. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5 percent in March from 12 months earlier, the S&P said Tuesday. Prices increased at the same pace in February.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5 percent in March from 12 months earlier, the S&P said Tuesday. Prices increased at the same pace in February. Total orders for durable goods slipped 0.5 percent from March, when orders had surged 5.1 percent, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Internet retailer Amazon.com.’s main German operating unit paid just 11.9 million euros ($16 million) in tax in 2014, despite the group recording $11.9 billion in sales to German customers last year, regulatory filings show.

Charter Communications Inc. plans to buy Time Warner Cable Inc., clinching a deal made necessary by slowing growth in the U.S. cable industry — and more expensive by last-minute competition from French billionaire Patrick Drahi.Charter will pay $195.71 a share — 14 percent above Time Warner Cable’s May 22 close — with options of $100 and $115 in cash and the remainder in its own stock, according to a statement Tuesday.