US stocks dip as Walmart earnings disappoint

Wall Street stocks finished lower Tuesday following a mixed batch of earnings from retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores, which tumbled 3.4 percent after slashing its profit forecast.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,512.51, down 32.67 points (0.19 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 5.55 (0.26 percent) at 2,096.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 32.35 (0.64 percent) to 5,059.35.

Dow member Walmart led the blue-chip index downward after higher operating costs and the strong dollar dented second-quarter earnings and prompted it to trim its full-year forecast.

But fellow Dow component Home Depot jumped 2.6 percent after lifting its full-year profit forecast to $5.31-$5.36 per share from $5.24-$5.27 per share as second-quarter sales and net income rose compared with the year-ago period.

"Things  are a bit hot and cold," said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets. "The housing sector is pulling up the market, but overall consumption remains uncertain and a source of unease for the US economy."