NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Wall Street moved lower on Tuesday, as housing starts trailed economists' estimates, overshadowing better-than-estimated earnings.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that housing starts rose 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 590,000 last month from a 587,000 pace in August, which was lower than previously estimated. Pulte Homes (NYSE:PHM) and Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) led home builders lower after the report.
The downbeat housing data wiped out the market sentiment spurred by rosy corporate earnings.
Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, posted third-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates and issued a full-year earnings forecast that exceeded the highest prediction.
Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest pharmaceutical company, also reported that lower expenses boosted its earnings.
Better-than-expected earnings reports from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TXN) late Monday also helped restore investor confidence.
The Dow Jones fell 50.71, or 0.50 percent, to 10,046.24. Broader indexes also went lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 6.85, or 0.62 percent, to 1,091.06 and the Nasdaq slipped 12.85, or 0.59 percent, to 2,167.76.
