By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday, weighed by energy and materials shares, as economic data failed to meet expectations.
Apple and eBay were lifting the tech sector, giving the market support.
U.S. consumer confidence fell in September for the first time in five months and home prices in July rose less than expected from a year earlier, underscoring the unsteady nature of U.S. growth.
"The data is not cooperating," said Paul Zemsky, chief investment officer of multi-asset strategies and solutions at Voya Investment Management in New York, speaking of the underwhelming figures on home prices and consumer confidence.
The Thomson Reuters Jefferies CRB commodity index fell 1.4 percent, on track for its largest daily decline since June 2013.
The energy and materials sectors fell more than 1 percent each.
Commodity prices will likely continue to be pressured, Zemsky said, but he does not see that as a reason for the market's run to end.
"There is no way I'm calling the 2009 (bull) market over. I don't think this is a top," he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average was rising 2.24 points, or 0.01 percent, to 17,073.46, the S&P 500 was losing 2.4 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,975.4 and the Nasdaq Composite was dropping 2.66 points, or 0.06 percent, to 4,503.19.
Tech shares were adding 0.3 percent after eBay Inc announced a plan to spin off its PayPal unit. The stock was gaining 7 percent to $56.33 and was the S&P's top percentage gainer on the day, as well as the most actively traded Nasdaq name.
Apple shares were rising 0.8 percent to $100.95 after China approved iPhone 6 sales to begin Oct. 17.
The U.S. dollar index was up 0.4 percent, off its peak of the session but still near four-year highs.
"The dollar can absolutely become a headwind to U.S. companies, and if a lot cite the dollar for weakness in sales, that could really translate to the stock market," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Declining issues were outnumbering advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,826 to 1,165, for a 1.57-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1,708 issues were falling and 884 advancing for a 1.93-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.
The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 11 new 52-week highs and 15 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 37 new highs and 92 new lows.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
