Stocks Slipped Lower amid Corporate Earnings

U.S. stocks slipped lower in the early trading on Tuesday amid a wave of corporate results that offered a mixed picture of earnings and the health of the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately was down 3.87 points, or 0.02%, to 18,219.16. The S&P 500 was off 1.39 points, or 0.06%, to 2,149.94. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.31 points, or 0.04%, to 5,307.52.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) announced profit per share of $0.48 for the third quarter of 2016, a decrease from $0.94 per share in the third quarter of 2015. Excluding restructuring costs, profit per share was $0.85, down from $1.05 per share in the third quarter of 2015. Third-quarter 2016 sales and revenues of $9.2 billion were down 16 percent from $11.0 billion in the third quarter of 2015.

General Motors Co. doubled net income and notched record revenue in the third quarter amid strong truck sales in the U.S. GM posted net income attributable to common shareholders of $2.77 billion for the period ended Sept. 30, up from $1.36 billion reported in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 10% to $42.83 billion.

Under Armour Inc. (UA) said its growth rate will be lower than expected. The company announced the goal of reaching $7.5 billion in revenue and $800 million at its 2015 Investor Day. However, the North American apparel business is slowing and “the growth rate going forward will be less than expected.”

Home-price growth accelerated in August, as a lack of inventory and low interest rates helped push prices to near-record levels. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices covering the entire nation rose 5.3% in the 12 months ended in August, a small jump from a 5% increase reported in July.