U.S. stocks trade mixed on corporate earnings, data

U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range on Tuesday, as investors digested a batch of corporate earnings amid U.S. housing starts data.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 1.23 points, or 0.01 percent, to 17,231.77. The S&P 500 edged down 0.13 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,033.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 12.52 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,892.95.

Shares of IBM slumped over 5 percent in the morning session, after the company's bigger-than-expected fall in quarterly revenue reinforced concerns that the corporate profit outlook is getting murkier.

After Monday's closing bell, IBM announced its third-quarter 2015 diluted earnings from continuing operations of 3.02 U.S. dollars per share, down 13 percent year on year.

On the economic front, privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.206 million, well above market expectations, according to the U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday.

"The increase in starts in September indicates construction is catching up with authorization, which will serve to bring new homes to the market in the coming months," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial, in a note.

Investors will also keep an eye on a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen at U.S. Labor Department later Tuesday.

Asian stocks markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite advancing 1.14 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.29 percent.

U.S. stocks ended mildly higher Monday, as Wall Street pondered over downbeat quarterly earnings reports after China's gross domestic product (GDP) data. Enditem