国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks fractionally higher on mixed data, earnings

NEW YORK, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. stocks erased morning losses and ended the session with small gains on Tuesday, after an encouraging report on consumer sentiment offset disappointing earnings and housing data.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 50.2 in October from a revised 48.6 a month earlier, which was higher than economist had expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average inched up 5.41, or 0.05 percent, to 11,169.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.02 points to 1,185.64, unchanged in percentage points, and the Nasdaq was up 6.44 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,497.29.

Stocks were trading lower across the board early in the morning after the Dow Jones industrial average finished at a 6-month new high, as market sentiment was affected by a downbeat housing report and a batch of mixed earnings.

U.S. auto maker Ford Motor on Tuesday reported its sixth consecutive quarterly profit, which beat expectations, but it disappointed investors on the revenue front. Even though, Ford was one of the few bright spots in the market, with its share rising 1. 48 percent to end at 14.36 dollars per share.

European banking giant UBS tumbled 5.25 percent in the U.S. market after its results missed estimates, as its investment banking division dragged down positive growth for the private banking division.

DuPont, the third largest U.S. chemical maker, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday and raised its 2010 earnings forecast as sales to the solar, auto and electronic sectors surged. However, its shares fell about 1 percent.

Among other economic news, prices of single-family homes fell in August, hovering around recent lows, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller report. Data showed that home prices in 17 of 20 cities weakened in a year-on-year basis, indicating the housing market was still struggling on the path to recovery.

Tuesday's small movement came as the market, trading at six- month highs, is looking ahead to next week's heavy schedule of long-awaited events, which include a Federal Reserve meeting in which the central bank is expected to announce additional stimulus measures, midterm elections and the government's report on October non-farm payrolls.