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NEW YORK, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, as investors digested a batch of corporate earnings amid U.S. housing starts data.
Shares of IBM slumped over 5 percent in the early trading Tuesday, after the company' s disappointing results reinforced concerns that the corporate profit outlook is getting murkier.
IBM announced after Monday' s closing bell third-quarter 2015 diluted earnings from continuing operations of 3.02 per share, down 13 percent year-to-year.
On the economic front, privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.206 million, well above market expectations, according to the U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday.
Investors will also keep an eye on a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen at U.S. Labor Department later Tuesday.
Asian stocks markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite advancing 1.14 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.29 percent.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 58.53 points, or 0.34 percent, to 17,172.01. The S&P 500 lost 4.65 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,029.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 13.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to 4,891.61.
U.S. stocks ended mildly higher Monday, as Wall Street pondered over downbeat quarterly earnings reports after China's gross domestic product (GDP) data.
