Wall Street little changed as discretionary stocks weigh

By Sruthi Shankar

REUTERS - Wall Street was little changed in early afternoon trading on Tuesday as losses in Home Depot and other consumer discretionary stocks limited gains on the S&P and the Dow.

Home Depot's 3.9 percent fall weighed the most on the two major indexes. Although the home improvement chain reported strong earnings and raised its forecast, investors appeared to be worried about supply constraints in the housing market that could be a drag on Home Depot's future earnings.

Shares of smaller rival Lowes Cos were down more than 3 percent and was the second-biggest loser on the S&P.

The consumer discretionary index also took a hit from a steep fall in the shares of Coach and Advance Auto Parts after the companies reported disappointing results.

 

However, data showed that U.S. retail sales recorded their biggest increase in seven months in July as consumers boosted purchases of motor vehicles as well as discretionary spending.

The data helped the dollar touch its highest level against a basket of major currencies in nearly three weeks.

At 12:48 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 8.27 points, or 0.04 percent, at 22,001.98 and the S&P 500 was up 0.31 points, or 0.01 percent, at 2,466.15.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 2.89 points, or 0.05 percent, at 6,343.13.

"Equities are headed towards pause mode," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

"There continues to be concerns over geopolitics, valuations, interest rates and perhaps to a degree, seasonal fatigue."

The markets had rebounded in the last two sessions after a standoff between the United States and North Korea showed signs of easing.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam while he waits to see what the United States does, the North's state media reported.

Oil prices fell, extending the prior session's heavy sell-off as the dollar rose more and as signs of weaker petroleum demand in China weighed the market down for a second day. [O/R]

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,845 to 981. On the Nasdaq, 1,818 issues fell and 1,005 advanced.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)