U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, as Wall Street digested a slew of corporate earnings reports and U.S. housing starts data. In U.S. economic news, September housing starts data came in well above expectations at 1.206 million. In international economic news, the pan-European STOXX 600 shedding about 0.40 percent, while the French CAC 40 fell 0.63 percent. Asian equities closed mixed, with the Shanghai Composite rising 1.11 percent, while the Hang Seng index fell 0.37 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.42 percent. In corporate news, Amazon.com said it will create over 100,000 holiday season jobs, above last year's 80,000. IBM reported earnings per share that were slightly above estimates, but its revenues came in far below consensus, pushing the stock down to its lowest levels since October 2010. The dollar declined against major world currencies. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery dropped 0.74 percent to $45.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures added $4.70 to $1,177.50 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 2, or 0.01 percent, to 17,229. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1, or 0.09 percent, to 2,031. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 23, or 0.49 percent, to 4,881.
