Bulls get bewitched

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks pared some losses but remained in negative territory Tuesday after a string of negative economic reports spooked investors, despite another drop in oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 39.07 to 12,047.43, Charts) fell 0.3 percent, with a little more than two hours remaining in the session. The blue-chip barometer has closed at record highs in 13 of the previous 20 sessions.

The broader S&P 500 (down 4.17 to 1,373.76, Charts) index fell 0.1 percent, while the tech-fueled Nasacort (down 4.57 to 2,359.20, Charts) slipped 0.7 percent. Both indexes hit multi-year highs last week.

The major gauges swayed on both sides of unchanged all morning, as investors took in the competing influences of upbeat earnings, lower oil prices and weaker economic news.

Stocks briefly turned negative after the release of the October Consumer Confidence report, quickly recovered, but then turned lower again after midday.

The Consumer Confidence index slipped to 105.4 in October from an upwardly revised 105.9 in September. The Conference Board number was a surprise to Wall Street economists, who were expecting a rise to 108, on average, following a big rally in the stock market and a period of lower oil prices.

The Chicago PMI was released at the same time. The regional read on manufacturing fell to 53.5 in October from 62.1 in September, when economists thought it would fall to 58, according to Briefing.com. A reading above 50 percent indicates an expanding business sector, while a reading below 50 represents a contraction.

An earlier report showed that employment costs rose more than expected in the third quarter.

Investors remained focused on the negative economic news, despite a decline in the price of oil by nearly $1 a barrel. U.S. light crude oil for December delivery fell 96 cents to $57.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after tumbling $2.39 or nearly 4 percent on Monday.

Earnings news Tuesday was more upbeat, but that didn't necessarily help the stocks of the companies reporting.

The Dow struggled despite news of higher quarterly earnings from fellow component Procter & Gamble.

The houshold products maker's sales topped estimates and boosted its full-year earnings outlook, but investors took a 'sell-the-news' approach and sent P&G (down $0.55 to $63.26, Charts) shares lower.

Shares of Eastman Kodak (up $1.07 to $24.82, Charts) climbed Tuesday after it reported it had narrowed its losses from a year earlier, beating estimates, but its revenue still fell short of forecasts.

Marathon Oil (down $1.88 to $83.41, Charts) reported sharply higher profit that beat Wall Street forecasts thanks to sustained higher oil prices. The company also reported revenue that dipped from a year earlier. Investors took profit on the stock, which has surged this year.

Late Monday, insurer MetLife (down $1.47 to $57.48, Charts) reported quarterly earnings and revenue that rose from a year earlier and topped estimates. However, investors bailed out of the stock Tuesday morning.

Verizon (down $1.06 to $36.59, Charts) also continued to slide, one day after the phone company reported strong quarterly earnings, but left investors concerned about the strength of its non-traditional businesses, including broadband.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by three to two on volume of 977 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers almost three to two on volume of 1.2 billion shares.

Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.61 percent from 4.67 percent late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose 10 cents to $607.50 an ounce.

Beware choppy waters ahead

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