By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks declined on Tuesday as quarterly corporate results again disappointed on revenues, but indexes eased from session lows.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
Housing starts fell more than expected in June, the government said, but applications for building permits topped forecasts.
"It's not surprising that housing starts declined, given the significant inventory of unsold homes, and until that inventory of unsold homes comes down, we're not likely to see improvement in starts," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC in Albany, New York.
"The encouraging number is the permits, which showed up a slight increase."
The Dow Jones home construction index <.DJUSHB> added 1.8 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 72.65 points, or 0.72 percent, at 10,081.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dipped 5.21 points, or 0.49 percent, at 1,066.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 18.92 points, or 0.86 percent, at 2,179.31.
International Business Machines Corp
All three indexes were down more than 1 percent shortly after the opening.
Apple
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)