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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were mixed early Tuesday as investors considered reports on home prices and consumer confidence.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was dwon 7 points, or less than 0.1%, in early trading. The S&P 500 (SPX) added 1 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq (COMP) edged up 7 points, or 0.2%.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) led decliners on the Dow after the stock was downgraded by Baird Equity Research. Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) was the best performer on the blue-chip index.
A report showed home prices fell to a 10-year low in January, while an index of consumer confidence eased slightly in March.
In the afternoon, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a lecture at George Washington University.
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U.S. stocks rallied Monday, after Bernanke's comments on the job market gave investors more reason to believe the central bank will keep interest rates low.
Economy: Home prices in 20 major cities fell to the lowest level since 2002, according to S&P/Case-Shiller.
The index for January dropped 3.8%, after a 4.1% drop in the month prior.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for March eased to 70.2 from 71.6 in February.
Companies: Lennar (LEN) posted earnings of 8 cents per share on revenue of $725 million, figures that topped analysts' estimates. The homebuilder said it has seen an uptick in sales and new orders in the first quarter.
Shares of major homebuilders were among the best performers in early trading. Pulte (PHM, Fortune 500), DR Horton (DHI, Fortune 500) and KB Home (KBH) were all higher.
Drug-store chain Walgreen (WAG, Fortune 500) reported earnings of 78 cents a share on $18.7 billion in revenue, slightly better than analyst estimates.
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Shares of private education provider Apollo Group (APOL, Fortune 500) dropped despite reporting earnings late Monday that beat Wall Street estimates.
Morgan Stanley's (MS, Fortune 500) former CEO John Mack is joining the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts as a senior advisor, the firm announced Tuesday.
World markets: European stocks were mixed in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) eased 0.2%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany rose 0.4% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) fell 0.7%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) shed 0.2%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong gained 1.8% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) jumped 2.4%.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar strengthened against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil for May delivery rose 54 cents to $107.56 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $7.40 to $1,693 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury increased, pushing the yield down to 2.23% from 2.25% late Monday.
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